Sydney study tracks focused ultrasound thalamotomy for focal hand dystonia over 12 months
Eleven people with focal hand dystonia improved on rating scales after a targeted lesion in the motor thalamus, though side effects were common and persisted in two.
Researchers in Sydney reported 12-month results from focused ultrasound thalamotomy in 11 people with focal hand dystonia, published in Brain Communications on October 23. The team, from St Vincent’s Health Network and UNSW, made a small lesion in the ventro-oral thalamus and compared participants with 10 matched healthy controls.
Symptoms improved on standard rating scales, with no long-term loss of strength or dexterity in the treated limb. Abnormal motor cortex excitability also fell, and the spatial pattern of motor responses moved toward control values. Side effects were common and persisted in two participants.
This was a small, single-arm study without a sham group, and the lesion is permanent. The authors say further work is needed.
Learn more: Focused ultrasound · Motor cortex