Magnetic Resonance‐Guided Focused Ultrasound Thalamotomy for Focal Hand Dystonia: A Pilot Study

ABSTRACT Background The efficacy of magnetic resonance‐guided focused ultrasound (MRgFUS) thalamotomy for the treatment of focal hand dystonia (FHD) is not well known. Objective We aimed to prospectively investigate the efficacy of MRgFUS thalamotomy for the treatment of FHD. Methods We performed MRgFUS thalamotomy of the ventro‐oral (Vo) nucleus in 10 patients with FHD. We evaluated the scores of the Writer's Cramp Rating Scale (WCRS, 0–30; higher scores indicating greater severity), Tubiana Musician's Dystonia Scale (TMDS, 0–5; lower scores indicating greater severity), and Arm Dystonia Disability Scale (ADDS, 0%–100%; lower scores indicating greater disability) at baseline and 3 and 12 months post‐treatment. Results WCRS, TMDS, and ADDS scores significantly improved from 6.3 ± 2.7, 1.4 ± 0.5, and 58.7% ± 14.3% at baseline to 1.6 ± 3.1 ( P = 0.011), 5.0 ± 0 ( P = 0.0001), and 81.6% ± 22.9% ( P = 0.0229) at 12 months, respectively. There was one prolonged case of dysarthria at 12 months. Conclusion We show that MRgFUS Vo‐thalamotomy significantly improved FHD. © 2021 The Authors. Movement Disorders published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society