Parkinson’s disease is the most common neurodegenerative pathology after Alzheimer’s and its prevalence has doubled in the last 25 years, according to estimates by the World Health Organization (WHO). It can affect people of all ages, but it is more common in older adults and the progressive aging of the population makes it a public health problem, since it has no cure and causes disability, and even in some cases dementia, That is the importance of finding new, more effective treatments.
Now, for the first time, researchers from the Abarca Campal HM CINAC Comprehensive Neuroscience Center, located at the HM Puerta del Sur University Hospital in Móstoles, have managed to successfully perform bilateral subthalamotomies through the use of high-intensity focal ultrasound (HIFU). This procedure has been shown to be safe and effective in reversing the motor symptoms of Parkinson’s disease.
Patients experienced significant motor improvements, with mild and transient adverse effects. Thus, this study concludes that it is possible to treat the motor signs of Parkinson’s on both sides of the body using HIFU. This advance is pioneering since, until now, this type of ultrasound procedure was only performed in one cerebral hemisphere, benefiting only one side of the body and the team led by Dr. José Obeso, director of HM CINAC, and Dr. Raúl Martínez, neurologist and clinical researcher, has demonstrated the feasibility of bilateral subthalamotomy with HIFU.
Treat parkinsonian tremor and rigidity with a non-invasive technique
Subthalamotomy using HIFU consists of performing progressive and controlled thermoablation in the subthalamic nucleus of the brain using high-intensity ultrasound, guided by real-time MRI images. It is a minimally invasive technique that allows reversing motor symptoms of Parkinson’s such as tremor, rigidity and bradykinesia without the need for a cranial incision and with immediate effects, which reduces complications associated with intracranial surgery and the placement of brain implants. and accelerates the patient’s recovery.
“Performing bilateral ablative treatment in Parkinson’s disease using radiofrequency and stereotaxic surgery has classically been associated with serious complications, which is why this therapeutic option was considered unavailable, with the therapeutic limitations that this entailed. Our study dispels this approach, showing that in fact lesions can be performed on the subthalamic nucleus of both hemispheres with good tolerance, although it must be specified that each ablation (HIFU treatment) is performed at different times, and about 12 months apart from each other. ”, explained Dr. Obeso.
“The results show that the bilateral application of HIFU would be a feasible and effective treatment in well-selected Parkinson’s patients”
The study, supported by the HM Hospitales Research Foundation and the Center for Biomedical Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases Network (CIBERNED) of the Carlos III Health Institute, has been published in the journal JAMA Neurology. This is the first world publication on bilateral subthalamotomy using HIFU. “Although this is a preliminary study, these results show that bilateral application of HIFU would be a feasible and effective treatment in well-selected patients. The improvements in some of the six patients treated are very significant. We need larger studies to corroborate these findings, especially in terms of the safety of the procedure,” said Dr. Martínez.
This study represents a significant advance in the use of HIFU as an effective treatment for the motor symptoms of Parkinson’s, consolidating HM CINAC’s leadership in this field. Since 2017, HM CINAC has been a pioneer in reversing the motor symptoms of Parkinson’s with HIFU, thus avoiding invasive surgical interventions. His work has been recognized in prestigious publications such as The New England Journal of Medicine, which in December 2020 scientifically validated the effectiveness and safety of this technique.
Source: HM Hospitale
