Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) in Nashville will soon treat movement disorders such as tremor and Parkinson’s disease using a minimally invasive technology called focused ultrasound (FUS) that delivers sound waves to specific regions in the brain. The approach, expected to become available in late summer or fall, uses…

Researchers have developed a new method of temporarily opening the selective blood-brain barrier (BBB) to allow therapeutic molecules greater access to the brain. Difficulties in developing molecules that can cross this barrier have long hindered the development of treatments for neurological diseases, like Parkinson’s disease. The technique could now…

Last November, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Exablate Neuro to treat motor symptoms in Parkinson’s disease patients, as reported by Parkinson’s News Today‘s Patricia Inacio, PhD. Created by medical device company Insightec, Exablate Neuro is a magnetic resonance, image-guided, focused ultrasound (MRgFUS) system that can treat tremors…

People with Parkinson’s disease with symptoms affecting one side of the body, who were treated with focused ultrasound targeting the affected brain region, showed an improvement in motor features after four months, a small study reported.  Side effects included involuntary movements, muscle weakness, speech problems,…

Parkinson’s News Today provided you with daily coverage of important findings, treatment developments, and clinical trials related to Parkinson’s during 2018. We look forward to bringing more news to Parkinson’s patients, as well as their family members and caregivers, during 2019.

Treating tremor in Parkinson’s patients using non-invasive and focused-ultrasound lesion surgery is associated with better quality of life when compared to deep brain stimulation, although both approaches are equally effective in easing this disease symptom, a review study reports. The study, “Outcomes in Lesion Surgery versus Deep Brain…

Insightec has treated the first patient in a pivotal study of its non-invasive ultrasound therapy, ExAblate Neuro, for patients with advanced Parkinson’s who have not responded to medication. The device uses focused ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to destroy a target deep in the brain — the Vim…

New technology that uses MRI-guided focused ultrasound to target areas of the brain affected by Parkinson’s disease and improve motor symptoms will be further tested in a pivotal Phase 3 clinical trial. Led by the University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC) and the University of Maryland School…

Ultrasound therapy can reduce the tremors of Parkinson’s patients who fail to respond to medication, a small clinical trial suggests. While the results were encouraging, larger studies are needed to confirm the technique’s effectiveness, researchers at the University of Virginia School of Medicine said. The study raises the possibility that…