Tremor and Parkinson's disease outpatient clinic opened

Kitano Hospital has opened a new consultation window for those seeking treatment for tremors and Parkinson's disease.

Among the tremors experienced by many people, symptoms such as trembling hands that make it difficult to write, use chopsticks, or drink water from a cup may be the tremors of essential tremor. In addition to trembling hands, essential tremor can also cause head shaking and a trembling voice. When treating essential tremor, there are often problems such as medications being ineffective or side effects that make it difficult to take the medication properly.

Some people with Parkinson's disease have difficulty curing tremors, a symptom of the disease. Others have difficulty curing motor symptoms such as slow body movements, or dyskinesia (a motor complication) in which the body moves involuntarily when taking medication.

Our hospital provides surgical treatment for essential tremor, tremors caused by Parkinson's disease, and motor symptoms and complications of Parkinson's disease. Consultations are accepted at the Tremor/Parkinson's Disease Outpatient Clinic.

A new option for non-incision surgery

A new option, "non-incision surgery," has been added to the surgical treatment for "tremors" and "Parkinson's disease."

Currently, surgical treatments approved as covered by insurance for tremors are:

1. Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS)
2. Stereotactic ablation
3. Focused ultrasound therapy (FUS)

There are three ways to do this:

Of these, "Focused Ultrasound Therapy" is attracting attention as a safe, cutting-free method of the latest "non-incision surgery." By simply using ultrasound, surgical procedures such as cutting with a scalpel or drilling holes in bones are not required, and there is no need to implant a pacemaker-type device, as is used in "Deep Brain Stimulation." "Focused Ultrasound Therapy" is a groundbreaking treatment in which the patient enters an MRI room with their head fixed to the device, focusing ultrasound waves on a part of the brain, suppressing "tremors" while confirming effectiveness and safety. Because it is a "non-incision" method, patients can undergo treatment with peace of mind compared to conventional surgery.
Our clinic will begin offering "Focused Ultrasound Therapy" from March 2021. At the moment, it is only available for symptoms on one side of the body, either the right or left side.

"Focused ultrasound therapy" is a treatment approved by insurance for "essential tremor," "tremors" of "Parkinson's disease," and the motor symptoms and complications of "Parkinson's disease." During the consultation, we will ask about the symptoms of "tremors" and "Parkinson's disease" and past treatments, and also measure skull density with a head CT scan to determine whether "Focused ultrasound therapy" is appropriate. Please note that in order to fit the ultrasound device closely to the scalp during treatment, you will need to shave all of your hair. Hospitalization is approximately one week.

At our hospital, we provide this "focused ultrasound therapy" in addition to "deep brain stimulation therapy" and "stereotactic ablation" to treat "essential tremor" and "Parkinson's disease."

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Each surgical treatment

*Partially revised from Dallapiazza RF, et al. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 2019

	FUS Focused ultrasound treatment	DBS Deep brain stimulation	GKRS Gamma Knife	RF High frequency thermal coagulation method
Frame installation	can be	can be	can be	can be
shaved head	can be	Partial	none	Partial
Cranial burr/operative wound	none	can be	none	can be
effect	Immediate effect	Immediate effect	Around 4 months	Immediate effect
adjustability	none	can be	none	none
reversibility	none	can be	none	none
Bilateral treatment	none	can be	can be	none
Medical device implantation	none	can be	none	none
Insurance coverage	can be	can be	none	can be

Focused ultrasound therapy device (FUS)

For more information about FUSThis equipment introduction pagePlease see.

Treatment examples using Focused Ultrasound Therapy (FUS) at our hospital

Treatment

*Photographs were taken with the patient's consent.

Tremor status before and after Focused Ultrasound Therapy (FUS)

Status of the first case

Status of the second case

*After treatment, the patient wrote their name, so that part has been edited and deleted.

FUS introduction video

We have put together a video of Dr. Toda and Dr. Nishida, who actually treat patients at Kitano Hospital, and the stories of patients who have actually received treatment. Please take a look.

• 0:18 What is FUS, a treatment for tremors?
• 1:07 Explanation of FUS treatment
• 1:59 Explanation with CG animation
• 3:29 FUS treatment (talk between doctor and patient)
• 5:41 FUS treatment schedule
• 7:07 For those who suffer from tremors

95th Academic Lecture

The event was co-hosted by Kyoto University and Kitano Hospital and focused on new treatments for tremors and Parkinson's disease. The entire event is available to the public, so please take a look.
For details of each lecture and lecturer, please seeLinked pagePlease check.

Outpatient consultation information

Please note that FUS treatment is not suitable for all patients, and the decision will be made after the doctor has first examined and examined the patient.

How to get examined

From other medical institutionsA letter of introduction and reservation are requiredIt is as follows. How to make a reservation directly from another medical institution Please consult your doctor or medical institution. We will receive a reservation request from the medical institution you visited at Kitano Hospital and arrange a date and time. On the day of your appointment, please bring your referral letter with you to our hospital. Reservation requests from other medical institutions How patients make their own reservations Patients can make their own reservationsPlease refer to the page.

Contact Us

Kitano Hospital, 3rd floor, Outpatient Block D