A high-tech form of brain surgery that replaces scalpels with sound waves improved quality of life for people with Parkinson’s disease that has resisted other forms of treatment, a new study has found.
Further, the School of Medicine researchers conclude their study offers “comprehensive evidence of safety” in terms of the approach’s effect on mood, behavior and cognitive ability, areas not significantly explored in previous research.
“In our initial study that looked at the outcomes of focused ultrasound surgery in Parkinson’s disease, we primarily described post-operative improvements in motor symptoms, specifically tremor,” said Scott Sperling, PsyD, a clinical neuropsychologist at UVA. “In this study, we extended these initial results and showed that focused ultrasound thalamotomy is not only safe from a cognitive and mood perspective, but that patients who underwent surgery realized significant and sustained benefits in terms of functional disability and overall quality of life.”
Focused Ultrasound and Parkinson’s Disease
Focused ultrasound, as the procedure is known, has already been approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of essential tremor, the most common movement disorder. That approval came after a pioneering international study led by UVA neurosurgeon Jeff Elias, MD. He and his colleagues have since demonstrated the technology’s potential in reducing tremor in people with drug-resistant Parkinson’s disease. The goal is to use focused sound waves to interrupt the faulty brain circuits responsible for the uncontrollable shaking associated with the disease.
The new study looked at the effects on 27 adults, all with severe Parkinson’s tremor that had not responded to previous treatment. The study participants were initially divided into two groups. Twenty received the procedure, while seven received a fake procedure, to serve as a control group. (The seven in the control group were later offered the opportunity to receive the real procedure, and all but one did.)
After receiving the procedure, study participants reported improved quality of life at both three months and 12 months. “After surgery, patients experienced significant improvements in multiple aspects of quality of life, including their ability to perform simple daily tasks, emotional well-being and the sense of stigma they experienced due to their tremor,” Sperling said. “Our results suggest that post-operative improvements in tremor lead to very meaningful improvements in day-to-day functioning and, subsequently, to better overall quality of life.”
The Effects on Mood and Memory in Parkinson’s
The study was notable for its in-depth examination of the psychological and cognitive effects of the procedure, areas that have received relatively little attention in previous research.
The researchers found that mood and cognition, and the ability to go about daily life, ultimately had more effect on participants’ assessment of their overall quality of life than did their tremor severity or the amount of tremor improvement seen after the procedure.
“A person’s perception of their quality of life is shaped in many different ways,” Sperling said. “Mood and behavioral symptoms, such as depression, anxiety and apathy, often have a greater impact on quality of life than the measurable severity of one’s tremor.”
The only cognitive declines seen in participants followed through the study were in how quickly they were able to name colors and think of and speak words. The cause of this was unclear, though the researchers suggested this could be a result of the natural progression of Parkinson’s. (Focused ultrasound is being tested to address the tremor associated with the disease, not its other symptoms.)
The researchers noted that their study was limited by its small size and the fact that participants’ medication dosing varied, among other factors.
To become available as a treatment for medication-resistant Parkinson’s, the approach would need approval from the FDA. UVA’s new research is an important step in that process.
Learn more: Scalpel-Free Surgery Improves Quality of Life for Parkinson’s Patients, Study Finds
The Latest on: Ultrasound surgery
[google_news title=”” keyword=”ultrasound surgery” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
via Google News
The Latest on: Ultrasound surgery
- Mother shares story how Johns Hopkins Center for Fetal Therapy saved son before he was bornon May 9, 2024 at 9:22 am
"It goes from ultrasound, guided procedures, to transfusions to putting in plastic shunts to relieve blockages and actually doing in utero surgery either minimally invasive camera with the camera or ...
- Nationally renowned hand surgery center completes $3.2M renovationon May 9, 2024 at 3:35 am
Every U.S. Army hand surgeon receives training in Baltimore at the Curtis National Hand Center, which just got a big upgrade.
- New technique bioprints live cells inside the body using ultrasonic waveson May 8, 2024 at 10:36 pm
Revolutionary acousto-printing method can be used to circumvent invasive surgery, and has a wide array of potential applications.
- Glasgow ultrasound pioneer targets multi-billion robotic surgery market thanks to funding booston May 8, 2024 at 2:03 am
Use precise geolocation data and actively scan device characteristics for identification. This is done to store and access information on a device and to provide personalised ads and content, ad and ...
- Portable Ultrasound Market Worth $3.8 billion by 2031 - Exclusive Report by Meticulous Research®on May 7, 2024 at 7:44 am
According to a new market research report, 'Portable Ultrasound Market By Product (POCUS, Handheld Ultrasound, Transducer, Gels), Technology (2D, 3D, 4D, Doppler), Display, Application (Breast Cancer, ...
- Endoscopic Ultrasound (EUS) Market Insights: Key Drivers of Growth and Challengeson May 6, 2024 at 10:53 pm
Report Ocean (150+ country’s markets analyzed, function on 1,00000+ published and forthcoming reports every year.] presents a research report and top winning strategies for the Endoscopic Ultrasound ...
- Do People With Diabetes Need to Fast Longer Before Surgery?on May 6, 2024 at 6:01 am
New data find gastric contents after fasting aren't higher than nondiabetics, but an expert endocrinologist disputes that conclusion and GLP-1 agonists further complicate the picture.
- Ultrasound technology is used in many ways. Addiction is the next frontier.on May 6, 2024 at 3:11 am
Now, researchers are studying whether ultrasound can be deployed against an especially implacable foe: addiction to opioids and other substances. “It’s basically doing brain surgery without the ...
- Needle-based gastrocnemius lengthening: Novel ultrasound-guided non invasive techniqueon May 3, 2024 at 9:15 am
Isolated gastrocnemius contracture has been associated with more than 30 lower limb disorders, including plantar heel pain/plantar fasciitis, Achilles tendinosis, equinus foot, adult flatfoot, ...
via Bing News