As I reach the 10-year milestone of my diagnosis, I am doing a “research roundup” on some leading researchers that I have collaborated with over the last 10 years. Where has their work taken them? Today, I’m focusing on Magnetic Resonance (MR)-Guided Focused Ultrasound, which I was first introduced to in 2022 by Arjun Desai, MD. As the Chief Strategic Innovation Officer at Insightec, Dr. Desai explained Exablate Neuro, Insightec’s focused ultrasound system. It is a system designed as an incisionless treatment option utilizing focused ultrasound technology to target and treat specific deep areas of the brain. In an interview published by Parkinson’s News Today, Dr. Desai spoke about the successful, groundbreaking treatment option for essential tremor, and how it later received FDA approval for treating (tremor dominant) Parkinson’s.
Recently, Insightec Associate Director of Medical Affairs Katie Gant, PhD, spoke to me and PMD Alliance Chief Advancement Officer Maureen Simmons about some of the latest developments in MR-Guided Focused Ultrasound (MRgFUS). Explore highlights from our collaborative discussion below:
1. Most developments in MRgFUS have been made in treating Essential Tremor, but Parkinson’s is not far behind.
2. Clinical trials have shown that people of all ages and all disease durations/progression have been treated.
3. For medication-refractory essential tremor (meaning standard medications are not successful), MRgFUS is approved to treat both sides of the brain. However, the two sides can’t be treated at the same time, so they are staged in two separate treatments at least 9 months apart.
4. Presently, MRgFUS is approved for tremor-dominant Parkinson’s and motor complications, but only on one side of the brain.
5. Researchers recently completed a clinical trial of staged, bilateral (both sides of the brain) MRgFUS treatment for motor complications in Parkinson’s Disease. The data has been submitted to the FDA and is currently under review, with a decision expected in the coming months. FDA Approval is one of the first steps in a treatment becoming an accessible option.
6. Patients receive MRgFUS treatments in an MRI suite, rather than in an operating room. MRgFUS uses a special helmet and water to send over 1000 beams of ultrasound energy (sound waves) to a specific area deep in the brain.
7. Patients are awake while ultrasound energy is delivered to the test treatment area to evaluate improvements in tremor or motor symptoms. Once the treatment area is defined, higher ultrasound energy is delivered to increase the temperature and create a definitive effect. Patients go home the same day.
8. The most common side effects of MRgFUS are numbness, tingling, and gait disturbance, but they are usually mild and resolve within a few months.
9. As with medication therapy, there is no one size fits all. Advanced interventions like MRgFUS and Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) are applied in different areas of the brain (targets) for different symptoms.
10. MRgFUS is currently approved for two targets and data is being reviewed for a third. This new target, the pallidothalamic tract (PTT), is the first to be studied for bilateral symptom control. Watch for more developments!
I left my conversation with Dr. Gant feeling I had experienced a shining example of the dedicated researchers in our corner. Her team is doing great things and providing hope to those of us who need it. To learn more about focused ultrasound, visit insightec.com.
