“It can be quite disabling, I think we all know someone who we have seen whose hand is shaking; they cannot write or drink without spilling,” said Dr. Mustafa Siddiqui, movement disorders Section Chief at Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist and Professor of Neurology and Neurosurgery at Wake Forest University School of Medicine.
Dr. Siddiqui, says that Guided Focused Ultrasound can help reduce their suffering.
“Multicenter trials were done, and they showed an improvement of 75% in their tremor,” said Dr. Siddiqui.
He explained that this procedure involves using a special helmet and an MRI machine while patients are awake.
“There are about 1000 high-intensity ultrasound beams which are shot in a very, very precise location in the brain,” said Dr. Siddiqui.
This treatment targets a part of the brain responsible for regulating movement because no incision is made Dr. Siddiqui says they can see the shaking go down as a small section of the brain is burned.
“Patients usually go home the same day,” said Dr. Siddiqui.
He says once the hospital begins treating patients he expects to see people from all over western North Carolina and some neighboring states.
“It’s been just around for the last few years,” said Dr. Siddiqui.
He says their first patient is scheduled to be seen this month and may see over 50 patients a year in the years to come.
This was shown first on: https://abc45.com/news/local/cutting-edge-parkinsons-treatment-coming-to-the-triad
