Gamma knife thalamotomy for essential and Parkinson’s tremor

Background. The study aims to evaluate the efficacy of gamma knife thalamotomy for the control of essential tremor and Parkinson’s-related tremor when other invasive treatment modalities are not recommended. Materials and methods. From June 2019 to January 2021, 27 patients with medically resistant...

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Main Authors: A. Radžiūnas, O. Laucius, L. Kudrevičius, P. Sėdžius, I. Čelpačenko
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Vilnius University Press 2021-03-01
Series:Neurologijos seminarai
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Online Access:https://www.journals.vu.lt/neurologijos_seminarai/article/view/27703
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author A. Radžiūnas
O. Laucius
L. Kudrevičius
P. Sėdžius
I. Čelpačenko
author_facet A. Radžiūnas
O. Laucius
L. Kudrevičius
P. Sėdžius
I. Čelpačenko
author_sort A. Radžiūnas
collection DOAJ
description Background. The study aims to evaluate the efficacy of gamma knife thalamotomy for the control of essential tremor and Parkinson’s-related tremor when other invasive treatment modalities are not recommended. Materials and methods. From June 2019 to January 2021, 27 patients with medically resistant essential tremor and 20 patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) underwent unilateral gamma knife thalamotomy. The patients were treated with a mounted Leksell G frame with modified 4 mm shots aiming to deliver 130-140 Gy to the ventralis intermedius nucleus. Post-surgical evaluation was to be performed 6 and 12 months after surgery. However, due to state-imposed quarantine restrictions direct evaluation was challenging, hence post-surgical results were evaluated via phone call. Only 12 of 20 PD patients were reached via phone call, but 8 of them were evaluated less than 6 months after surgery. As a result, the group of PD patients was excluded from the study. Results. 23 patients from the essential tremor group were assessed via phone call. One patient died from COVID-19-related pneumonia during the follow-up period. During the phone call, 16 (72%) of 22 patients reported major improvement in hand tremor or full tremor arrest on the contralateral side of thalamotomy. Meanwhile, 6 (28%) patients did not feel any improvement after the treatment. Complications were observed in 4 (18%) patients – they reported transient ataxia and hand movement dyscoordination which resolved in few months. Conclusions. Gamma knife thalamotomy is safe and effective for essential hand tremor control. Main disadvantages include several months of latency period and transient ataxia.
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spelling doaj-art-f15b142476fa404e9903176fac7f63562025-01-20T18:22:29ZengVilnius University PressNeurologijos seminarai1392-30642424-59172021-03-01251(87)10.29014/ns.2021.06Gamma knife thalamotomy for essential and Parkinson’s tremorA. Radžiūnas 0O. Laucius 1L. Kudrevičius 2P. Sėdžius 3I. Čelpačenko 4Lithuanian University of Health SciencesLithuanian University of Health SciencesLithuanian University of Health SciencesLithuanian University of Health SciencesLithuanian University of Health Sciences Background. The study aims to evaluate the efficacy of gamma knife thalamotomy for the control of essential tremor and Parkinson’s-related tremor when other invasive treatment modalities are not recommended. Materials and methods. From June 2019 to January 2021, 27 patients with medically resistant essential tremor and 20 patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) underwent unilateral gamma knife thalamotomy. The patients were treated with a mounted Leksell G frame with modified 4 mm shots aiming to deliver 130-140 Gy to the ventralis intermedius nucleus. Post-surgical evaluation was to be performed 6 and 12 months after surgery. However, due to state-imposed quarantine restrictions direct evaluation was challenging, hence post-surgical results were evaluated via phone call. Only 12 of 20 PD patients were reached via phone call, but 8 of them were evaluated less than 6 months after surgery. As a result, the group of PD patients was excluded from the study. Results. 23 patients from the essential tremor group were assessed via phone call. One patient died from COVID-19-related pneumonia during the follow-up period. During the phone call, 16 (72%) of 22 patients reported major improvement in hand tremor or full tremor arrest on the contralateral side of thalamotomy. Meanwhile, 6 (28%) patients did not feel any improvement after the treatment. Complications were observed in 4 (18%) patients – they reported transient ataxia and hand movement dyscoordination which resolved in few months. Conclusions. Gamma knife thalamotomy is safe and effective for essential hand tremor control. Main disadvantages include several months of latency period and transient ataxia. https://www.journals.vu.lt/neurologijos_seminarai/article/view/27703gamma knifethalamotomyessential tremorParkinson’s disease
spellingShingle A. Radžiūnas
O. Laucius
L. Kudrevičius
P. Sėdžius
I. Čelpačenko
Gamma knife thalamotomy for essential and Parkinson’s tremor
Neurologijos seminarai
gamma knife
thalamotomy
essential tremor
Parkinson’s disease
title Gamma knife thalamotomy for essential and Parkinson’s tremor
title_full Gamma knife thalamotomy for essential and Parkinson’s tremor
title_fullStr Gamma knife thalamotomy for essential and Parkinson’s tremor
title_full_unstemmed Gamma knife thalamotomy for essential and Parkinson’s tremor
title_short Gamma knife thalamotomy for essential and Parkinson’s tremor
title_sort gamma knife thalamotomy for essential and parkinson s tremor
topic gamma knife
thalamotomy
essential tremor
Parkinson’s disease
url https://www.journals.vu.lt/neurologijos_seminarai/article/view/27703
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AT lkudrevicius gammaknifethalamotomyforessentialandparkinsonstremor
AT psedzius gammaknifethalamotomyforessentialandparkinsonstremor
AT icelpacenko gammaknifethalamotomyforessentialandparkinsonstremor