How MRgFUS Treatment is Changing the Future of Essential Tremor Care

How MRgFUS Treatment is Changing the Future of Essential Tremor Care

The constant pain of having your hands shake and tremble is debilitating. It can make the most routine everyday tasks, like changing clothes, signing papers, sipping your tea, and even texting, exceedingly maddening to experience for people suffering from Essential Tremor. There are some medications that can make patients’ suffering more manageable, but there are many more who are still suffering with no relief in sight after years of painstaking treatments.

A new, modern marvel technology called MR-guided Focused Ultrasound MRgFUS has begun to alleviate the pain associated with Essential Tremor. The procedure is non-invasive and offers people hope to manage their tremors better, without the gruelling, traditional brain surgeries.

As India and the world recognize and raise awareness of MRgFUS and the non-invasive approach, modern technology is an important advancement in the care of movement disorders.

The goal of this blog is to help people understand essential tremors, the symptoms, how essential tremor is diagnosed, and, most importantly, how MRgFUS can be a game changer for the future of tremor management.

Understanding Essential Tremors

Essential Tremor (ET) is a neurological movement disorder that causes involuntary and rhythmic shaking, mainly during movement or activity.

The tremors can and will affect virtually all parts of the body during movement, such as:

• Hands
• Arms
• Head
• Voice
• Jaw

Essential Tremor differs from Parkinson’s in that tremors can be absent when the body is at rest.

When people notice shaking, it is usually while they are:

• Writing
• Eating
• Drinking
• Shaking

Essential Tremor can affect a person of any age group, although it is sometimes more often seen with older adults.

What is Essential Tremor?

We still do not understand the full context of what causes essential tremor. However, it is likely that this condition has to do with impaired communication between the same areas of the brain that control movements. This likely happens in the cerebellum.

Genetic Inheritance of Essential Tremor

This neurodegenerative disease is familial in nature, often being passed down through a family lineage. Essential tremor often appears in children whose parents were diagnosed.

What Worsens Essential Tremor?

There are many different factors that have the potential to amplify the symptoms of essential tremor. A few of these factors would include:

• Emotional stress
• Anxiety
• Physical stress
• Relentless tiredness
• Impaired sleeping
• Unwanted caffeine consumption

It is important to understand that these factors are not in the direct path of causing essential tremor. However, these factors can worsen the symptoms of the disease.

What are the common symptoms of essential tremor?

Symptoms commonly become visible on the body gradually and can often become progressively worse. Many patients report the same observable signs of essential tremor, such as the following:

• Shook appendages
• Poor and unclear handwriting due to tremors
• Involuntary shakiness that also manifests as tremors in the voice
• Involuntary gestures and motions of the head
• Poor grip leading to a tendency to drop objects
• Tremors become worse or amplified with emotional or physical stress

In the most extreme state, this condition can cause a patient to become unable to accomplish good hygiene and properly feed themself.

How is essential tremor diagnosed?

There are no definitive tests that can be conducted to confirm the diagnosis of essential tremor. Most of these cases rely on neurological evaluations.

In the evaluation below are a few common things that the doctors will consider:

• Patient’s Family History
• Observed Patterns of Patients’ Tremors
• Which Activities were disrupted by the symptoms?
• How long were the symptoms present?
• What prescription drugs is the patient currently on?

It is certain that the doctor will conduct a medical assessment with the tools listed below:

The doctor will perform a few tests to assess the patient’s:

• Coordination
• Balance
• Control of Muscles
• Ability to Write
• Dexterity of Hands

The doctor will ask the patient to perform some everyday, mundane tasks.

What is the Treatment for MRgFUS?

MR-guided Focused Ultrasound (MRgFUS) is a groundbreaking and completely non-invasive treatment for Essential Tremor.

It consists of the following elements:

• MRI images to direct with precision
• High-intensity focused ultrasound waves are used to selectively impact certain brain regions that cause tremors

Unlike conventional surgery, MRgFUS has no:

• Cutting of skin
• Implants of devices
• Opening of the cranial cavity

This significantly broadens the candidate population.

What is the Function of MRgFUS?

In the course of this treatment:

• The patient lies in the MRI
• The neurosurgeon locates the area of the brain that induces tremors
• The focused ultrasound beams are aimed at this precisely located area
• The mental damage caused by the ultrasound is perpetuating abnormal signals from the brain that drive the tremors

The patients remain awake during the procedure, as this allows the neurosurgeons to simultaneously monitor the phenomena.

A good number of the patients actually experience a dramatic and immediate stoppage of the tremors during the procedure.

What MRgFUS Means for Those with Essential Tremor

MRgFUS is receiving a lot of attention and rightly so. There is a lengthy list of advantages that it provides that are distinct when compared to conventional forms of treatment that have been developed for this disability.

1. Non-Invasive Procedure

In the list of advantages that MRgFUS boasts of, one of the major ones is that it delivers the intended treatment without the need for an incision.

This is the case because:

• There are no wounds
• There are no devices that are embedded
• There is a very minute risk of developing an infection
• There are a few complications that are directly associated with the surgery

For a good part of the population, the treatment is deemed less scary and more appealing.

2. The Speed of Recovery

With brain surgery that was traditionally performed, a patient could expect a lengthy hospital stay and a long convalescence.

With MRgFUS:

• The stay is shorter
• The time necessary to fully recover is curtailed
• The majority of patients are able to return to their normal everyday life that they led prior to the procedure more quickly

This is very good for seniors.

3. The Ability to Act with Precision and in Real-time

As a result of the MRI, the neurosurgeon is able to precisely target the affected area.

This keeps:

• Symptoms more manageable
• Less healthy brain tissue affected
• The brain safer

4. Tremors Improve After a Short Time

Many patients notice their tremors lessening during or soon after the surgery.

Hand control is key to:

• Good control for writing, eating, and drinking
• Helping to complete many personal grooming tasks

The newly found control helps to feel more confident and more independent.

5. Options for Patients with Severe Symptoms that Don’t Respond to Medication

Some patients suffer from serious tremors that are beyond the control of most tremor medications.

For patients who are unable to take medications due to their side effects or who do not respond to medications, and for whom surgical intervention is contraindicated, this modality is a good option for them.

What are the Side Effects?

Like any intervention, side effects may occur, though they are generally not serious.

Temporary side effects may include:

• Minor balance issues
• Tingling
• Head pain
• Feeling sick

The doctor assesses the patient adequately to ensure their safety when choosing this intervention.

How has this intervention advanced in India?

Now, patients in advanced neurological and movement disorder clinics in India can receive this treatment.

MRgFUS treatment continues to expand its reach globally with increased awareness of this treatment.

What can help?

Essential tremor is very real and negatively impacts all the activities of daily life when it is at its peak severity. Current medications are very effective; however, advanced technologies like MR-guided Focused Ultrasound are shaping the future of tremor management.

MRgFUS was used in this particular case to provide a highly effective, safe, and precise, non-invasive intervention for patients. Patients with tremors may also see an even more impressive and quicker recovery.

As neurological treatments expand in India, MRgFUS offers people the chance for better management of their symptoms and, for the first time, improves their quality of life.

FAQs

1. Is MRgFUS Treatment Painful?
It’s not. Since no cuts are made, it’s considered noninvasive. You will remain awake throughout the treatment, and it’s a well-received treatment.

2. Can Essential Tremor be Cured by MRgFUS?
It’s possible that MRgFUS can significantly lessen the tremors, and in some cases, can totally eliminate it; however, some may not always be so lucky.

3. Who Qualifies for MRgFUS?
It differs from case to case, but in general, anyone who suffers from moderate to severe Essential Tremor is a good candidate for this treatment after they go through and complete a neurological evaluation and have not had success with the use of medications.