Comparative connectivity correlates of dystonic and essential tremor deep brain stimulation

Brain ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takashi Tsuboi ◽  
Joshua K Wong ◽  
Robert S Eisinger ◽  
Lela Okromelidze ◽  
Mathew R Burns ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Deep Brain Stimulation ◽  
Essential Tremor ◽  
Brain Stimulation ◽  
Rating Scale ◽  
Structural Connectivity ◽  
Cortical Network ◽  
Dystonic Tremor ◽  
Intermediate Nucleus ◽  
Ventral Intermediate Nucleus ◽  
Deep Brain

Abstract The pathophysiology of dystonic tremor and essential tremor remains partially understood. In patients with medication-refractory dystonic tremor or essential tremor, deep brain stimulation (DBS) targeting the thalamus or posterior subthalamic area has evolved into a promising treatment option. However, the optimal DBS targets for these disorders remains unknown. This retrospective study explored the optimal targets for DBS in essential tremor and dystonic tremor using a combination of volumes of tissue activated estimation and functional and structural connectivity analyses. We included 20 patients with dystonic tremor who underwent unilateral thalamic DBS, along with a matched cohort of 20 patients with essential tremor DBS. Tremor severity was assessed preoperatively and approximately 6 months after DBS implantation using the Fahn-Tolosa-Marin Tremor Rating Scale. The tremor-suppressing effects of DBS were estimated using the percentage improvement in the unilateral tremor-rating scale score contralateral to the side of implantation. The optimal stimulation region, based on the cluster centre of gravity for peak contralateral motor score improvement, for essential tremor was located in the ventral intermediate nucleus region and for dystonic tremor in the ventralis oralis posterior nucleus region along the ventral intermediate nucleus/ventralis oralis posterior nucleus border (4 mm anterior and 3 mm superior to that for essential tremor). Both disorders showed similar functional connectivity patterns: a positive correlation between tremor improvement and involvement of the primary sensorimotor, secondary motor and associative prefrontal regions. Tremor improvement, however, was tightly correlated with the primary sensorimotor regions in essential tremor, whereas in dystonic tremor, the correlation was tighter with the premotor and prefrontal regions. The dentato-rubro-thalamic tract, comprising the decussating and non-decussating fibres, significantly correlated with tremor improvement in both dystonic and essential tremor. In contrast, the pallidothalamic tracts, which primarily project to the ventralis oralis posterior nucleus region, significantly correlated with tremor improvement only in dystonic tremor. Our findings support the hypothesis that the pathophysiology underpinning dystonic tremor involves both the cerebello-thalamo-cortical network and the basal ganglia-thalamo-cortical network. Further our data suggest that the pathophysiology of essential tremor is primarily attributable to the abnormalities within the cerebello-thalamo-cortical network. We conclude that the ventral intermediate nucleus/ventralis oralis posterior nucleus border and ventral intermediate nucleus region may be a reasonable DBS target for patients with medication-refractory dystonic tremor and essential tremor, respectively. Uncovering the pathophysiology of these disorders may in the future aid in further improving DBS outcomes.

scholarly journals Longitudinal follow-up with VIM thalamic deep brain stimulation for dystonic or essential tremor

Neurology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 94 (10) ◽  
pp. e1073-e1084 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takashi Tsuboi ◽  
Zakia Jabarkheel ◽  
Pamela R. Zeilman ◽  
Matthew J. Barabas ◽  
Kelly D. Foote ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Deep Brain Stimulation ◽  
Essential Tremor ◽  
Brain Stimulation ◽  
Rating Scale ◽  
Statistical Significance ◽  
Ventral Intermediate Nucleus ◽  
Deep Brain

ObjectiveTo assess longitudinal tremor outcomes with ventral intermediate nucleus deep brain stimulation (VIM DBS) in patients with dystonic tremor (DT) and to compare with DBS outcomes in essential tremor (ET).MethodsWe retrospectively investigated VIM DBS outcomes for 163 patients followed at our center diagnosed with either DT or ET. The Fahn-Tolosa-Marin tremor rating scale (TRS) was used to assess change in tremor and activities of daily living (ADL) at 6 months, 1 year, 2–3 years, 4–5 years, and ≥6 years after surgery.ResultsTwenty-six patients with DT and 97 patients with ET were analyzed. Compared to preoperative baseline, there were significant improvements in TRS motor up to 4–5 years (52.2%; p = 0.032) but this did not reach statistical significance at ≥6 years (46.0%, p = 0.063) in DT, which was comparable to the outcomes in ET. While the improvements in the upper extremity tremor, head tremor, and axial tremor were also comparable between DT and ET throughout the follow-up, the ADL improvements in DT were lost at 2–3 years follow-up.ConclusionOverall, tremor control with VIM DBS in DT and ET was comparable and remained sustained at long term likely related to intervention at the final common node in the pathologic tremor network. However, the long-term ADL improvements in DT were not sustained, possibly due to inadequate control of concomitant dystonia symptoms. These findings from a large cohort of DT indicate that VIM targeting is reasonable if the tremor is considerably more disabling than the dystonic features.Classification of evidenceThis study provides Class IV evidence that VIM DBS improves tremor in patients with DT or ET.

scholarly journals Effects of ventral intermediate nucleus deep brain stimulation across multiple effectors in essential tremor

2020 ◽  
Vol 131 (1) ◽  
pp. 167-176 ◽  
Author(s):  
B.J. Wilkes ◽  
A. Wagle Shukla ◽  
A. Casamento-Moran ◽  
C.W. Hess ◽  
E.A. Christou ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Deep Brain Stimulation ◽  
Essential Tremor ◽  
Brain Stimulation ◽  
Intermediate Nucleus ◽  
Ventral Intermediate Nucleus ◽  
Deep Brain

Brain penetration effects of microelectrodes and deep brain stimulation leads in ventral intermediate nucleus stimulation for essential tremor

2010 ◽  
Vol 112 (3) ◽  
pp. 491-496 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takashi Morishita ◽  
Kelly D. Foote ◽  
Samuel S. Wu ◽  
Charles E. Jacobson ◽  
Ramon L. Rodriguez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Deep Brain Stimulation ◽  
Essential Tremor ◽  
Operating Room ◽  
Brain Stimulation ◽  
Rating Scale ◽  
Lead Placement ◽  
Ventral Intermediate Nucleus ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Over Time ◽  
Deep Brain

Object Microelectrode recording (MER) and macrostimulation (test stimulation) are used to refine the optimal deep brain stimulation (DBS) lead placement within the operative setting. It is well known that there can be a microlesion effect with microelectrode trajectories and DBS insertion. The aim of this study was to determine the impact of intraoperative MER and lead placement on tremor severity in a cohort of patients with essential tremor. Methods Consecutive patients with essential tremor undergoing unilateral DBS (ventral intermediate nucleus stimulation) for medication-refractory tremor were evaluated. Tremor severity was measured at 5 time points utilizing a modified Tremor Rating Scale: 1) immediately before MER; 2) immediately after MER; 3) immediately after lead implantation; 4) 6 months after DBS implantation in the off-DBS condition; and 5) 6 months after implantation in the on-DBS condition. To investigate the impact of the MER and DBS lead placement, Wilcoxon signed-rank tests were applied to test changes in tremor severity scores over the surgical course. In addition, a generalized linear mixed model including factors that potentially influenced the impact of the microlesion was also used for analysis. Results Nineteen patients were evaluated. Improvement was noted in the total modified Tremor Rating Scale, postural, and action tremor scores (p < 0.05) as a result of MER and DBS lead placement. The improvements observed following lead placement were similar in magnitude to what was observed in the chronically programmed clinic setting parameters at 6 months after lead implantation. Improvement in tremor severity was maintained over time even in the off-DBS condition at 6 months, which was supportive of a prolonged microlesion effect. The number of macrostimulation passes, the number of MER passes, and disease duration were not related to the change in tremor severity score over time. Conclusions Immediate improvement in postural and intention tremors may result from MER and DBS lead placement in patients undergoing DBS for essential tremor. This improvement could be a predictor of successful DBS lead placement at 6 months. Clinicians rating patients in the operating room should be aware of these effects and should consider using rating scales before and after lead placement to take these effects into account when evaluating outcome in and out of the operating room.

Direct targeting of the ventral intermediate nucleus of the thalamus in deep brain stimulation for essential tremor: a prospective study with comparison to a historical cohort

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Andre A. Wakim ◽  
Natasha A. Sioda ◽  
James J. Zhou ◽  
Margaret Lambert ◽  
Virgilio Gerald H. Evidente ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Deep Brain Stimulation ◽  
Essential Tremor ◽  
Brain Stimulation ◽  
Anterior Commissure ◽  
Proton Density ◽  
Historical Cohort ◽  
Intermediate Nucleus ◽  
Ventral Intermediate Nucleus ◽  
Direct Targeting ◽  
Deep Brain

OBJECTIVE The ventral intermediate nucleus of the thalamus (VIM) is an effective target for deep brain stimulation (DBS) to control symptoms related to essential tremor. The VIM is typically targeted using indirect methods, although studies have reported visualization of the VIM on proton density–weighted MRI. This study compares the outcomes between patients who underwent VIM DBS with direct and indirect targeting. METHODS Between August 2013 and December 2019, 230 patients underwent VIM DBS at the senior author’s institution. Of these patients, 92 had direct targeting (direct visualization on proton density 3-T MRI). The remaining 138 patients had indirect targeting (relative to the third ventricle and anterior commissure–posterior commissure line). RESULTS Coordinates of electrodes placed with direct targeting were significantly more lateral (p < 0.001) and anterior (p < 0.001) than those placed with indirect targeting. The optimal stimulation amplitude for devices measured in voltage was lower for those who underwent direct targeting than for those who underwent indirect targeting (p < 0.001). Patients undergoing direct targeting had a greater improvement only in their Quality of Life in Essential Tremor Questionnaire hobby score versus those undergoing indirect targeting (p = 0.04). The direct targeting group had substantially more symptomatic hemorrhages than the indirect targeting group (p = 0.04). All patients who experienced a postoperative hemorrhage after DBS recovered without intervention. CONCLUSIONS Patients who underwent direct VIM targeting for DBS treatment of essential tremor had similar clinical outcomes to those who underwent indirect targeting. Direct VIM targeting is safe and effective.

scholarly journals Connectivity profile of thalamic deep brain stimulation to effectively treat essential tremor

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bassam Al-Fatly ◽  
Siobhan Ewert ◽  
Dorothee Kübler ◽  
Daniel Kroneberg ◽  
Andreas Horn ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Deep Brain Stimulation ◽  
Motor Cortex ◽  
Essential Tremor ◽  
Brain Stimulation ◽  
Brain Connectivity ◽  
Clinical Care ◽  
Hand Tremor ◽  
Intermediate Nucleus ◽  
Ventral Intermediate Nucleus ◽  
Deep Brain

AbstractEssential tremor is the most prevalent movement disorder and is often refractory to medical treatment. Deep brain stimulation offers a therapeutic approach that can efficiently control tremor symptoms. Several deep brain stimulation targets (ventral intermediate nucleus, zona incerta, posterior subthalamic area) have been discussed for tremor treatment. Effective deep brain stimulation therapy for tremor critically involves optimal targeting to modulate the tremor network. This could potentially become more robust and precise by using state-of-the-art brain connectivity measurements. In the current study, we utilized two normative brain connectomes (structural and functional) to show the pattern of effective deep brain stimulation electrode connectivity in 36 essential tremor patients. Our structural and functional connectivity models were significantly predictive of post-operative tremor improvement in out-of-sample data (p< 0.001 for both structural and functional leave-one-out cross-validation). Additionally, we segregated the somatotopic brain network based on head and hand tremor scores. These resulted in segregations that mapped onto the well-known somatotopic maps of both motor cortex and cerebellum. Crucially, this shows that slightly distinct networks need to be modulated to ameliorate head vs. hand tremor and that those networks could be identified based on somatotopic zones in motor cortex and cerebellum.Finally, we propose a multi-modal connectomic deep brain stimulation sweet spot that may serve as a reference to enhance clinical care, in the future. This spot resided in the posterior subthalamic area, encroaching on the inferior borders of ventral intermediate nucleus and sensory thalamus. Our results underscore the importance of integrating brain connectivity in optimizing deep brain stimulation targeting for essential tremor.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document