Age-matched comparison of focused ultrasound thalamotomy for tremor in Parkinson's disease and essential tremor: A two-center retrospective study

Introduction: Magnetic resonance-guided Focused ultrasound (MRgFUS) thalamotomy for tremors has been suggested to be more effective in essential tremor (ET) compared to Parkinson's disease (PD). Age has been proposed as a potential predictor of response, with opposite trends between PD and ET, and may contribute to the observed differences in outcomes. This study aims to compare the outcome of unilateral MRgFUS-thalamotomy in age-matched cohorts of PD and ET patients. Methods: Consecutive ET and PD patients treated with MRgFUS-thalamotomy in the two centers were enrolled and matched by age. Tremor severity was evaluated at baseline and at 6 and 12 months post-treatment using disease-specific scales for ET and PD. Results: Sixty-four patients (40 ET, 24 PD) were evaluated at 6 months (22 ET and 8 PD reached the 12 months follow-up). ET and PD patients showed a comparable tremor improvement at 6-month follow-up. The benefit observed persisted at 12-months Conclusion: Head-to-head outcome comparison of unilateral MRgFUS-thalamotomy did not reveal major differences between ET and PD matched by age.