Three brothers

Marcello, Franco and Antonello, three brothers aged 54, 57 and 60, had been suffering from the same familial disease for more than thirty years – Essential tremor. All three decided to have Magnetic Resonance-guided Focused Ultrasound treatment to try and relieve the tremor that had been disrupting their normal life.

Antonello, who has had a severe tremor in one of his hands, was the first one to have focused ultrasound surgery one year ago at San Salvatore Hospital, L’Aquila in Italy.

“I’ve always suffered from the Essential tremor. I had it for many years, since I was 25,”explains Antonello. “In our family we all love music and play as a hobby. Our father was an excellent musician and he passed on his passion to us.  I used to play bass but I had to stop performing because of the shaking of my right hand. After I had the ultrasound treatment, I started playing again. Doctors have given me my life back”.

His two brothers were astonished when they saw Antonello hold his hand still and they both decided to get the treatment.

“I had been suffering from this problem for more than thirty years which prevented me from doing almost everything such as writing, eating or doing normal things,” Franco says. “Whenever I had to write an order or a phone number, I always had to call for help because I could no longer manage independently. I had to go to the barber every week because I could not use a razor any longer without hurting myself!”

“I was not able to even drink a cup of coffee. Unfortunately, I couldn’t do many daily activities anymore” adds Marcello who has always loved playing the piano.

Magnetic Resonance-guided Focused Ultrasound is a non-invasive technology for treating medication-refractory essential tremor precisely without any cutting and, in certain patients, with immediate results and minimal complications. Precise identification of the target location is controlled and monitored using a computer. Accurate treatment planning is performed using high resolution MR images of the target. Ultrasound waves are then focused to a tiny spot inside the patient’s brain that is responsible for the unwanted tremor. The focused ultrasound then ablates this tissue resulting in a therapeutic effect: tremor relief.

“Focused ultrasound treatment gave me back my independence,” Franco affirms. “I have no more barriers. I had a wall in front of me and this treatment brought it down”.

Marcello says, “Now I can do everything again -all the little things I want to do. I am able to go back to doing what I was doing before the tremor”.

Most amazing of all is to see the brothers happy and playing music together again.

This patient testimonial may not be representative of all treatment outcomes. There is the possibility that your tremor may return after the Neuravive treatment, or that the tremor may not improve at all. There is a risk that you could develop temporary or permanent numbness/tingling, imbalance, unsteadiness, gait disturbance, and muscle weakness. For more safety information, please click here.