Treatments and Technologies
OhioHealth Movement Disorder experts work closely with you and your family to understand how your condition impacts your physical, mental and emotional well-being. Our top priority is to accurately diagnose your movement disorder and provide you with a treatment plan that maximizes your quality of life.
Conditions That We Treat
- Ataxia and other cerebellar disorders
- Chorea
- Drug-induced movement disorders
- Dystonia
- Essential tremor
-
Functional movement disorders
- Gait disorders
- Huntington’s disease
- Myoclonus
- Parkinson disease (PD) and other parkinsonisms (PSP, MSA, CBS, DLB)
- Restless legs/arms and periodic limb movements of sleep
- Tics and Tourette's
- Tremor
Medications
We offer patients the latest, most effective medications for Parkinson disease and other movement disorders. Our experts have experience with all available prescription drugs, including oral medications, injectable medications, inhalation medications and infusion medications. Your doctor can explain which medications will be the best to treat your condition.
Research and Clinical Trials
We are active participants in ongoing movement disorders research and clinical trials. Currently, our main focus is on Parkinson disease genetics, exercise and freezing of gait. However, as our faculty grows, we plan to bring in more areas of research in the coming years.
Deep Brain Stimulation Surgery
For people with Parkinson's disease, essential tremor or dystonia, deep brain stimulation (DBS) surgery may significantly relieve symptoms. During this semi-awake procedure, our neurosurgeons implant electrodes deep in the brain. The electrodes are connected by soft wires under the skin to a stimulator device that is placed beneath the skin of the chest. The device acts like a brain pacemaker, sending electrical signals directly to the areas of the brain that control body movement. The pacemaker can be programmed, in real time, to reduce or eliminate your symptoms. While DBS surgery is not a cure for movement disorders, it can make symptoms much easier to manage.
High-intensity Focused Ultrasound
High-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU or FUS) is an incisionless treatment option for Parkinson disease tremor and essential tremor. Unlike traditional neurosurgery, this advanced treatment is completed as an outpatient procedure inside an MRI scanner while you are awake. The MRI scanner allows the neurosurgeon to precisely visualize the anti-tremor brain target. Low-intensity ultrasound waves are then used to sequentially “stun” portions of the visualized target area to find the exact microscopic brain location that eliminates the tremor. High-intensity ultrasound waves are then used to “kill” the same microscopic target to eliminate the tremor. As a result, most patients walk out of the procedure with minimal, if any, residual tremor. This treatment takes on average 2-3 hours with a short recovery time after which patients can return home the same day.
For specific questions or to learn more related to focused ultrasound treatment, please contact our Movement Disorders Team directly at FocusedUltrasound@ohiohealth.com.