Commercial Appeal: The New Treatment Option for Essential Tremor

Anne Columm, 77, has had a life-changing experience through the new MR-Guided Focused Ultrasound treatment. It uses sound energy to target Essential Tremor cells in the brain, non-invasively with no incisions, which can also be treated with Deep Brain Stimulation and medications.

Semmes Murphey physician, Dr. Aaron Bond, is heading up this new procedure in Memphis and the surrounding area.

This new treatment at Regional One Health’s East Campus Imaging Center stopped the tremor in her right hand that same day, a “gift from God” allowing her to smoothly perform day-to-day tasks many take for granted.

“I can feed myself, write, use a computer,” said Collum, the second patient to receive the treatment at the center. “A lot of good things are coming from my right side.”

For the procedure, the patient’s head is placed in a headframe. The patient lays on the treatment bed and enters the MRI scanner. The focused ultrasound system aligns with the MRI scan and it delivers energy that destroys tremor cells.

The procedure’s results are immediate and no follow-up procedure is necessary. The benefits of the procedure remain three years for its patients. Dr. Bond has said this type of treatment is a new frontier, with research developing for other ailments the procedure could possibly treat, including for prostate tumors and Alzheimer’s.