Focused ultrasound thalamotomy in Parkinson disease: Nonmotor outcomes and quality of life.

OBJECTIVE: To examine nonmotor outcomes and correlates of quality of life (QoL) 3 and 12 months after unilateral focused ultrasound thalamotomy in tremor-dominant Parkinson disease (TDPD). METHODS: Twenty-seven patients with TDPD in a double-blind, sham-controlled, randomized clinical trial underwent comprehensive neuropsychological evaluations. These included assessment of mood, behavior, and QoL at baseline, 3 months, 3 months post crossover in the sham group, and 12 months after active treatment. We used Mann-Whitney U tests to assess differences between the active (n = 20) and sham (n = 7) groups at 3 months and Friedman tests to assess within-group changes after active treatment. We assessed correlations between disease variables and postoperative QoL using Kendall tau-b tests. RESULTS: There were no differences in cognition, mood, or behavior between the active and sham groups at 3-month blinded assessment. After active treatment, there were no differences in mood or behavior. Only declines in Stroop Color Naming and phonemic fluency were observed. Patients experienced postoperative improvements in QoL and activities of daily living (ADL). Mood and behavioral symptoms, aspects of cognitive functioning, ADL, and overall motor symptom severity, but not tremor severity specifically, were associated with QoL. CONCLUSIONS: In TDPD, unilateral focused ultrasound thalamotomy appears safe from a cognitive, mood, and behavioral perspective. QoL and ADL significantly improved following surgery. Nonmotor symptoms and ADL were more closely associated with QoL than tremor severity. CLASSIFICATION OF EVIDENCE: This study provides Class II evidence that for patients with TDPD, unilateral focused ultrasound thalamotomy did not adversely change cognition, mood, or behavior at 3 months.

Safety and Efficacy of Focused Ultrasound Thalamotomy for Patients With Medication-Refractory, Tremor-Dominant Parkinson Disease: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Clinical trials have confirmed the efficacy of focused ultrasound (FUS) thalamotomy in essential tremor, but its effectiveness and safety for managing tremor-dominant Parkinson disease (TDPD) is unknown. Objective: To assess safety and efficacy at 12-month follow-up, accounting for placebo response, of unilateral FUS thalamotomy for patients with TDPD. Design, Setting, and Participants: Of the 326 patients identified from an in-house database, 53 patients consented to be screened. Twenty-six were ineligible, and 27 were randomized (2:1) to FUS thalamotomy or a sham procedure at 2 centers from October18, 2012, to January 8, 2015. The most common reasons for disqualification were withdrawal (8 persons [31%]), and not being medication refractory (8 persons [31%]). Data were analyzed using intention-to-treat analysis, and assessments were double-blinded through the primary outcome. Interventions: Twenty patients were randomized to unilateral FUS thalamotomy, and 7 to sham procedure. The sham group was offered open-label treatment after unblinding. Main Outcomes and Measures: The predefined primary outcomes were safety and difference in improvement between groups at 3 months in the on-medication treated hand tremor subscore from the Clinical Rating Scale for Tremor (CRST). Secondary outcomes included descriptive results of Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) scores and quality of life measures. Results: Of the 27 patients, 26 (96%) were male and the median age was 67.8 years (interquartile range [IQR], 62.1-73.8 years). On-medication median tremor scores improved 62% (IQR, 22%-79%) from a baseline of 17 points (IQR, 10.5-27.5) following FUS thalamotomy and 22% (IQR, -11% to 29%) from a baseline of 23 points (IQR, 14.0-27.0) after sham procedures; the between-group difference was significant (Wilcoxon P = .04). On-medication median UPDRS motor scores improved 8 points (IQR, 0.5-11.0) from a baseline of 23 points (IQR, 15.5-34.0) following FUS thalamotomy and 1 point (IQR, -5.0 to 9.0) from a baseline of 25 points (IQR, 15.0-33.0) after sham procedures. Early in the study, heating of the internal capsule resulted in 2 cases (8%) of mild hemiparesis, which improved and prompted monitoring of an additional axis during magnetic resonance thermometry. Other persistent adverse events were orofacial paresthesia (4 events [20%]), finger paresthesia (1 event [5%]), and ataxia (1 event [5%]). Conclusions and Relevance: Focused ultrasound thalamotomy for patients with TDPD demonstrated improvements in medication-refractory tremor by CRST assessments, even in the setting of a placebo response. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT01772693.