Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38469997›Full record

ArticleMovement disorders clinical practice2024

Magnetic Resonance-Guided Focused Ultrasound for Treatment of Essential Tremor: Ventral Intermediate Nucleus Ablation Alone or Additional Posterior Subthalamic Area Lesioning?

Kain Kyle, James Peters, Benjamin Jonker, Yael Barnett, Joel Maamary, Michael Barnett, Jerome Maller, Chenyu Wang, Stephen Tisch

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Movement disorders clinical practice, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Surgical Treatment of Tremor Syndromes: A Guide to the Clinician.Movement disorders clinical practice · 2026
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Kain KyleFaculty of Medicine and Health Translational Research Collective, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, New South Wales, Australia.ORCID 0000-0003-3288-2469
James PetersDepartment of Neurology, St Vincent's Hospital, Darlinghurst, New South Wales, Australia.ORCID 0000-0001-7533-4388
Benjamin JonkerDepartment of Neurosurgery, St Vincent's Hospital, Darlinghurst, New South Wales, Australia.
Yael BarnettDepartment of Neurology, St Vincent's Hospital, Darlinghurst, New South Wales, Australia.
Joel MaamaryDepartment of Neurology, St Vincent's Hospital, Darlinghurst, New South Wales, Australia.
Michael BarnettFaculty of Medicine and Health Translational Research Collective, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, New South Wales, Australia.
Jerome MallerGE Healthcare, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Chenyu WangFaculty of Medicine and Health Translational Research Collective, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, New South Wales, Australia.
Stephen TischDepartment of Neurology, St Vincent's Hospital, Darlinghurst, New South Wales, Australia.

Funding

The Brain and Mind Centre Partnership GrantThe GE Healthcare Medical Physics PhD Scholarship
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundMagnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound (MRgFUS) for treatment of essential tremor (ET) traditionally targets the ventral intermediate (Vim) nucleus. Recent strategies include a secondary lesion to the posterior subthalamic area (PSA).

objectiveThe aim was to compare lesion characteristics, tremor improvement, and adverse events (AE) between patients in whom satisfactory tremor suppression was achieved with lesioning of the Vim alone and patients who required additional lesioning of the PSA.

methodsRetrospective analysis of data collected from ET patients treated with MRgFUS at St Vincent's Hospital Sydney was performed. Clinical Rating Scale for Tremor (CRST), hand tremor score (HTS), and Quality of Life in Essential Tremor Questionnaire (QUEST) were collected pre- and posttreatment in addition to the prevalence of AEs. The lesion coordinates and overlap with the dentatorubrothalamic tract (DRTT) were evaluated using magnetic resonance imaging.

resultsTwenty-one patients were treated in Vim only, and 14 were treated with dual Vim-PSA lesions. Clinical data were available for 29 of the 35 patients (19 single target and 10 dual target). At follow-up (mean: 18.80 months) HTS, CRST, and QUEST in single-target patients improved by 57.97% (P < 0.001), 36.71% (P < 0.001), and 58.26% (P < 0.001), whereas dual-target patients improved by 68.34% (P < 0.001), 35.37% (P < 0.003), and 46.97% (P < 0.005), respectively. The Vim lesion of dual-target patients was further anterior relative to the posterior commissure (PC) (7.84 mm), compared with single-target patients (6.92 mm), with less DRTT involvement (14.85% vs. 23.21%). Dual-target patients exhibited a greater proportion of patients with acute motor AEs (100% vs. 58%); however, motor AE prevalence was similar in both groups at long-term follow-up (33% vs. 38%).

conclusionPosterior placement of lesions targeting the Vim may confer greater tremor suppression. The addition of a PSA lesion, in patients with inadequate tremor control despite Vim lesioning, had a trend toward better long-term tremor suppression; however, this approach was associated with greater prevalence of gait disturbance in the short term.

Indexed as

Essential TremorMagnetic Resonance ImagingSubthalamic NucleusAdultAgedAged, 80 and overFemaleHigh-Intensity Focused Ultrasound AblationHumansMaleMiddle AgedQuality of LifeRetrospective StudiesTreatment OutcomeVentral Thalamic Nucleiessential tremormagnetic resonance–guided focused ultrasoundposterior subthalamic areaventral intermediate nucleus

Identifiers

PMID38469997
PMCPMC11078489

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.