ULTRASOUND THERAPY INCREDIBLY CURES MAN WITH TREMORS IN HIS HAND
Around 10 million Americans suffer from essential tremor (ET), according to Penn Medicine. Patients' quality of life is severely impacted by this neurological condition, which makes everyday tasks like eating, drinking, and writing challenging, if not impossible. Beginning with a guy who had ET for more than 30 years, a groundbreaking treatment is now improving the lives of those impacted.
The 72-year-old Orlando Avendaño had ET for over thirty years, which caused his hand to shake wildly anytime he attempted to perform fine motor skills. "The food spills out. I can't use a fork to eat. Because I don't want anyone to see me, I try to use a large spoon instead of a fork," Avendaño told NBC Miami. Because he felt embarrassed, his wife, Iliana, adding, they have even avoided going to see others. "He hasn't been able to eat well due to his nerves, and we've declined numerous family and social engagements.
"People with ET feel angry or ashamed at best, and become disabled at worst," according to the International Essential Tremor Foundation. Additionally, the foundation notes that ET is frequently misdiagnosed as Parkinson's disease. Eight times as many people have ET as Parkinson's disease, and it doesn't primarily affect the elderly, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.
Avendaño just had a concentrated ultrasonic therapy with an MRI machine on his brain. The individual was completely aware throughout the process, and neither surgery nor anesthetic were required. With the help of state-of-the-art technology, neurosurgeon Dr. Lloyd Zucker used ultrasonography to target the part of the brain causing the tremors, resulting in a tiny lesion that eliminates the involuntary motions. The neurosurgeon has called this his "magic trick."
According to Dr. Zucker, "the MRI basically focuses the ultrasound down onto a point, and if you look at it, it's like a magnifying glass." "So we're focusing it on a location in the brain that is accountable for or contributes to a portion of the tremor, and by doing that, we can eliminate the tremor." Avendaño regained the independence he had lost years ago after a few hours of therapy.
Dr. Zucker continued, "It's probably the most lovely thing." "As you can see when I begin to smile, I've been doing this for years. When you see the patients and their families and what it does for them, you can't take that away." He'll go home, and he's going to sit there tonight at dinner, and all those things he couldn’t do, he's gonna be doing.
Avendaño received this life-altering therapy at the Delray Medical Center in South Florida, one of 79 medical facilities in the United States that currently provide this treatment. Many people can perhaps have another chance at independence and perform the things that many of us may take for granted with this treatment.
