TUESDAY, Nov. 3 (HealthDay News) -- In patients with tremors caused by Parkinson's disease and essential tremor, stereotactic radiosurgery may be an effective and noninvasive alternative to other treatments, according to research presented at the 51st Annual Meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology, held from Nov. 1 to 5 in Chicago.

Rufus Mark, M.D., of the Joe Arrington Cancer Center and Texas Tech University in Lubbock, and colleagues studied 183 patients who underwent stereotactic radiosurgery thalamotomy for hard-to-treat tremors.

After a median follow-up of seven years, the researchers found that treatment was associated with near or complete tremor resolution in 82.8 percent of Parkinson's disease patients and in 86.6 percent of essential tremor patients.

"The study shows that radiosurgery is an effective and safe method of getting rid of tremors caused by Parkinson's disease and essential tremor, with outcomes that favorably compare to both deep-brain stimulation and radiofrequency in tremor relief and risk of complications at seven years after treatment," Mark said in a statement. "In view of these long-term results, this noninvasive procedure should be considered a primary treatment option for tremors that are hard to treat."

Abstract - Mark
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