No one really seemed to share my amazement at learning about focused ultrasound possiblities for PD, so I dug further and found out more.

PTT has already had clinical trials for ET (Laura, I think you were dx'd with ET first, right?) and here is the video of the world's first ET patient who received focused ultrasound treatment at UVA, be sure to note the dates, from 1/11 he was having a lot of difficulty, to 3/11, what an improvement:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5oLbSzdaMLs

Here's a link describing the procedure in a bit more detail, sounds like you are awake so you can provide feedback during the procedure, and you go home the day after:

http://www.fusfoundation.org/Press-R...sential-tremor

What do you all think of this? It's like DBS, but without the gear, and with a much higher efficacy rate, with the bonus of helping symptoms other than just tremor.

Thank you so much LFC for sharing. This is some thing new combining the power of MRI to pin point the region in the brain to be stimulated by ultra sound waves. The video is remarkable and convincing, but I wonder how long it will take to make the treatment available for ordinary people like us
On a similar note, I have always held the belief that a non invasive form of DBS will be found and eventually refined to be the best treatment for PD. And If we dig in the archive of Neurotalk, we will discover many research papers on non-invasive electric peripheral stimulation used for treatment of neurological diseases.
Also, keep in mind the fact that Chinese medicine have been using acupuncture successfully for several thousands of years and acupuncture is a form of peripheral stimulation of exact points (nodes) facilitating the flow of energy (Chi) throughout our bodies.
Having said that, I confess that I am not excited any more by any research or "break throughs" treatment reported by the media. We have been disappointed so many times and all I get from the medical establishment is about 10 minutes every 6 months when I meet my neurologist and get the sinemet prescription !
Imad

PDF had a web-seminar yesterday on Ultra Sound-based treatment for PD. They may have the talk posted on their website.

More on this, later.
Girija

Sorry I've been away so long. I raise my hand for being interested in this!

I was in on a presentation on focused ultrasound while attending a meeting in New York early Dec, 2012. It's more precise and far less invasive than DBS.

I'm waiting for this one!
Peg

k: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/sh...son%27s&rank=1

recruiting Patients right now, Check it out

girija

I had focused ultrasound in 2007 for a condition other than PD. It really is amazing in its accuracy, although of course anything that takes place inside an MRI tube is bound to be expensive.

Is focused ultrasound more or less accurate and effective than Cyberknife? I believe that Cyberknife, which uses gold "seed" implants, is a bit more precise than MRI guidance, because it doesn't matter whether the patient moves.

I was first diagnosed with ET and this treatment does seem promising. In fact, my doctor informed me I had both ET and PD. Sadly, tremor is no longer my most debilitating symptom when off meds, so I doubtfully would no longer qualify. My neuro has published on the idea of PD subtypes saying that our predominant symptoms can change over time. Plus there is no hard evidence that any subtypes exist; it all stems from a single study showing that tremor dominant PD has a slower and more benign disease course. That study was done on later onset PD, so who knows just how applicable that is to us diagnosed in their thirties? Do not to want to rain on the parade but just curious how many of us actually remain tremor dominant 10 years post diagnosis or 5 years on levodopa?

This brings to mind something I read many years ago. An Indian medical doctor (educated in the U.S.) investigated what happened in the brain when people meditated and chanted, like many traditions do in Indian. He found that certain sounds on certain syllables vibrate certain areas in the brain. So, if an Indian guru told someone to chant a certain syllable for a certain condition, there might be something physiologically underlying it. I've sometimes wondered if we could find a sound that we could produce with our own voice that would vibrate our substantia nigra to produce more dopamine without the help of drugs.