Category: Tremor
Objective: To report a 9-year single-center experience using MRgFUS thermoablation for movement disorders.
Background: Over 22000 patients with Essential Tremor (ET), Parkinson´s disease (PD) and other movement disorders have been treated worldwide by MRgFUS. Real-life reports from experienced groups are lacking.
Method: This retrospective study includes patients treated at HM-CINAC (Madrid, Spain) from July2015-June2024. Efficacy was assessed using MDS-UPDRS-III and Fahn-Tolosa-Marin (FTM) at baseline, 6 and 12 months.
Results: Of 1076 clinically eligible candidates, 687 were excluded due to various practical reasons, including, importantly, a low (<0.30) SDR in 36 (3.3%). A total of 417 treatments in 389 patients (201 ET, 181 PD, 2 PD-ET, 1 fragile-X-related tremor-ataxia-syndrome, 1 orthostatic-tremor, 2 Multiple-Sclerosis-related-tremor, 1 Multiple-system-atrophy) have been assessed. Mean age was 62 years (PD) and 70.5 (ET) (P<0.001). PD procedures included 131 subthalamotomies (STN), 43 thalamotomies (Vim), 8 pallidotomies (GPi), and 2 pallido-thalamic tractotomies (PTT), excluding retreatments and bilateral cases. Patients with other movements disorders received Vim thalamotomy.
At one-year, unilateral FTM reduction in ET patients was 67.5% (SD=26.6). MDS-UPDRS-III-off reduction on the treated side showed variable results (STN-59.4% (20.5), Vim-28.9% (45.5), GPi-31.5% (19.4) p<0.001). Unilateral GPi showed a 53.5% reduction in MDS-UPDRS-IV. PTT results will be released elsewhere.
Immediate AEs were frequent (65.7%), but mostly (98.2%) disappeared or were mild at 12 months. In PD, on-dyskinesias (24.6% STN) and weight gain (22.8% STN) were more common. In ET, imbalance (25.8%) and dysmetria (10.6%) of mild severity predominated.
Conclusion: MRgFUS thermoablation is an effective and safe treatment for movement disorders, mainly ET and PD. AEs were common but transient; severe complications were rare.
To cite this abstract in AMA style:
C. Del Toro-Pérez, R. Martínez-Fernández, E. Natera-Villalba, R. Rodriguez-Rojas, J. Pineda-Pardo, C. Gasca Salas, M. Matarazzo, JA. Obeso Inchausti. Subthalamotomy and thalamotomy using MgFUS: Retrospective review of 9 years of treating Parkinson’s disease and Essential Tremor. [abstract]. Mov Disord. 2025; 40 (suppl 1). https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/subthalamotomy-and-thalamotomy-using-mgfus-retrospective-review-of-9-years-of-treating-parkinsons-disease-and-essential-tremor/. Accessed October 5, 2025.« Back to 2025 International Congress
MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/subthalamotomy-and-thalamotomy-using-mgfus-retrospective-review-of-9-years-of-treating-parkinsons-disease-and-essential-tremor/