Deep Brain Stimulation for Essential Tremor

Overseen By Matthew Johnson, PhD

Age: 18+

Sex: Any

Trial Phase: Academic

Sponsor: University of Minnesota

Disqualifiers: Musculoskeletal disorders, Neurological disorder, Pregnancy, others

No Placebo Group All trial participants will receive the active study treatment (no placebo)

Approved in 2 Jurisdictions This treatment is already approved in other countries

Compensation: Varies

Number of Visits: Unknown

Duration: 24 months

25 Participants Needed

What You Need to Know Before You Apply

What is the purpose of this trial?

This trial focuses on improving deep brain stimulation (DBS) for individuals with essential tremor, a condition that causes shaking with movement. Vim-Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS targeting the ventralis intermedius nucleus) already reduces tremors, but determining the optimal settings is challenging and time-consuming. The study uses computer models to assist doctors in selecting the most effective settings more quickly. It seeks participants with essential tremor who have DBS implants and have not found success with medications.

As an unphased trial, this study provides an opportunity to contribute to innovative research that could enhance treatment for essential tremor.

Will I have to stop taking my current medications?

The trial information does not specify whether you need to stop taking your current medications.

What prior data suggests that this method is safe for treating essential tremor?

Research shows that deep brain stimulation (DBS) targeting the ventralis intermedius nucleus (Vim) effectively controls symptoms of essential tremor. Studies have found that most patients tolerate Vim DBS well, experiencing only mild side effects. The most common side effect is dysarthria, a speech issue, which is usually manageable and does not outweigh the benefits of reducing tremors. Overall, DBS has successfully provided many patients with good control over tremor symptoms. ^{1 2 3 4 5}

Why are researchers excited about this trial?

Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) for Essential Tremor is unique because it directly targets the brain's thalamus, specifically the ventral intermediate nucleus (VIM), which plays a crucial role in tremor activity. Unlike traditional medications that aim to calm tremors through broad systemic effects, DBS offers a precise electrical modulation right where the tremor signals originate. Researchers are excited about this treatment because it has the potential to provide more consistent and durable control of tremors with fewer systemic side effects, offering a life-changing option for individuals who don't respond well to medication.

What evidence suggests that Vim-DBS is effective for essential tremor?

Research shows that deep brain stimulation (DBS) targeting the ventral intermediate nucleus (Vim) effectively treats essential tremor (ET). In this trial, participants will receive Vim-DBS, which studies have found significantly reduces shaking after the procedure. One study found that DBS was safe and remained effective even six months after treatment. Another study highlighted that DBS successfully manages tremors long-term when medication fails. Overall, Vim-DBS effectively controls tremor symptoms in people with essential tremor. ^{1 4 6 7 8}

Are You a Good Fit for This Trial?

This trial is for individuals with Essential Tremor (ET) who haven't responded well to medications and have a Vim-Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) implant. Participants must have had a specific type of MRI scan before surgery and a CT scan after. It's not for those with limb movement disorders, other major neurological conditions, previous brain surgeries besides VIM-DBS, or pregnant women.

Inclusion Criteria

I have been diagnosed with Essential Thrombocythemia (ET).

My tremor does not improve with medication.

You have had a VIM-DBS implant on one or both sides of your brain.

Exclusion Criteria

I have had brain surgery before, but not VIM-DBS surgery.

Pregnancy

You have another important brain or nerve condition.

Timeline for a Trial Participant

Screening

Participants are screened for eligibility to participate in the trial

2-4 weeks

Treatment

Participants undergo deep brain stimulation (DBS) targeting the Vim thalamus with optimization algorithms to identify therapeutic stimulation settings

24 months

Routine clinical follow-up sessions

Follow-up

Participants are monitored for safety and effectiveness after treatment using TETRAS and QUEST questionnaires

24 months

What Are the Treatments Tested in This Trial?

Interventions

• Vim-Deep Brain Stimulation

Trial Overview The study tests new algorithms to program DBS systems more efficiently in patients with ET. By using computational models that predict neural activation near the implanted electrode, it aims to help clinicians quickly find the best settings to control tremors.

How Is the Trial Designed?

Group I: Deep Brain Stimulation Experimental Treatment 1 Intervention

Subjects in this study will have been implanted with a DBS lead in the VIM as part of their routine clinical care and have an existing set of brain MRI's.

Vim-Deep Brain Stimulation is already approved in United States, European Union for the following indications:

Approved in United States as Vim-DBS for:

• Essential tremor
• Tremor associated with Parkinson's disease

Approved in European Union as Vim-DBS for:

• Essential tremor
• Tremor associated with Parkinson's disease

Who Is Running the Clinical Trial?

University of Minnesota

Lead Sponsor

Trials

1,459

Recruited

1,623,000+

Published Research Related to This Trial

In a study of 14 patients with essential tremor followed for an average of 7.7 years after VIM-DBS surgery, tremor severity significantly decreased by 73.4% at 6 months but only by 50.1% at the last follow-up, indicating a loss of efficacy over time.

To maintain tremor control, patients required significant increases in stimulation parameters such as voltage and pulse width, suggesting that both disease progression and tolerance to stimulation may contribute to the diminishing effects of VIM-DBS.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Long-term Thalamic Deep Brain Stimulation for Essential Tremor: Clinical Outcome and Stimulation Parameters. Rodríguez Cruz, PM., Vargas, A., Fernández-Carballal, C., et al.[2022]

In a study of 47 patients with Essential Tremor, both VIM and cZI deep brain stimulation (DBS) showed significant improvement in tremor scores from 6 months to 4 years post-surgery, indicating both methods are effective for tremor control.

However, VIM-DBS demonstrated superior long-term outcomes compared to cZI stimulation, particularly noticeable at the 3 and 4-year marks, suggesting that VIM remains the preferred target for sustained tremor relief.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Ventral Intermediate Nucleus Versus Zona Incerta Region Deep Brain Stimulation in Essential Tremor. Eisinger, RS., Wong, J., Almeida, L., et al.[2022]

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the nucleus ventralis intermedius (VIM) is an effective treatment for essential tremor, but some patients may experience deterioration in tremor control over time, necessitating higher stimulation voltages that can cause adverse effects.

In a study of 3 patients, adding a second thalamic lead and using a dual-channel pulse generator allowed for more targeted stimulation, improving tremor control while reducing side effects, suggesting this method could serve as a reversible rescue therapy for patients needing high-intensity stimulation.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Confined stimulation using dual thalamic deep brain stimulation leads rescues refractory essential tremor: report of three cases. Yu, H., Hedera, P., Fang, J., et al.[2009]

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the ventral intermediate nucleus of the thalamus (VIM) significantly improves tremor and handwriting in patients with essential tremor, with an average tremor score reduction from 3.27 to 0.64 and handwriting score from 2.94 to 0.89 over an average follow-up of 56.9 months.

The treatment is considered safe, with an 80.4% improvement in tremor and 69.7% in handwriting, although some patients may experience tolerance requiring adjustments in stimulation parameters, and the overall hardware-related complication rate was 23.5%.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Long-term results of thalamic deep brain stimulation for essential tremor. Zhang, K., Bhatia, S., Oh, MY., et al.[2022]

In a study of 12 patients with essential tremor, asleep deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the ventralis intermedius (Vim) nucleus showed significant clinical improvements, with tremor scores decreasing by an average of 71.2% and daily living activities improving by 74.9% after 6 months.

The procedure was found to be safe, with mild and transient surgical complications, and the effectiveness of asleep DBS was comparable to traditional awake DBS methods, suggesting it could be a viable alternative for treating essential tremor.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Asleep Deep Brain Stimulation of the Nucleus Ventralis Intermedius for Essential Tremor Using Indirect Targeting and Interventional Magnetic Resonance Imaging: Single-Institution Case Series. Gravbrot, N., Burket, A., Saranathan, M., et al.[2023]

In a study of 230 patients undergoing deep brain stimulation (DBS) for essential tremor, those who had direct targeting of the ventral intermediate nucleus (VIM) using MRI showed similar clinical outcomes compared to those with indirect targeting.

While direct targeting required lower stimulation amplitudes and improved quality of life scores for hobbies, it was associated with a higher incidence of symptomatic hemorrhages, although all patients recovered without intervention.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

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. Wakim, AA., Sioda, NA., Zhou, JJ., et al.[2023]

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the ventralis oralis anterior nucleus (Voa) was successfully used in an 83-year-old patient with medically intractable essential tremor, leading to significant improvement in her dominant hand tremor after 2 years.

Following the initial DBS, Gamma Knife radiosurgery (GKS) targeting the Voa was performed for the nondominant hand tremor, resulting in successful tremor reduction without complications, suggesting that Voa GKS is a safe and effective option for elderly patients with ischemic brain lesions.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Ventralis oralis anterior (Voa) deep brain stimulation plus Gamma Knife thalamotomy in an elderly patient with essential tremor: A case report. Oh, BH., Park, YS.[2023]

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the thalamic ventral intermediate nucleus (VIM) provides long-term tremor relief for patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) and essential tremor (ET), with sustained improvements of 63% and 48% respectively beyond 10 years after surgery.

While patients with dystonia showed initial improvement in tremor (41% at 1 year), this benefit was not maintained over time, indicating that DBS is less effective for dystonic tremor compared to PD and ET.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Thalamic deep brain stimulation for tremor in Parkinson disease, essential tremor, and dystonia. Cury, RG., Fraix, V., Castrioto, A., et al.[2017]

In a 5-year follow-up study of 38 patients with essential tremor (ET) and Parkinson's disease (PD), thalamic deep brain stimulation (DBS) showed significant long-term efficacy, with patients experiencing up to 100% improvement in tremors depending on the type of stimulation (unilateral or bilateral).

While DBS is generally safe, common adverse effects included paresthesia and pain for unilateral implants, and dysarthria and balance difficulties for bilateral implants, indicating that careful consideration is needed when opting for bilateral stimulation.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Long-term evaluation of deep brain stimulation of the thalamus. Pahwa, R., Lyons, KE., Wilkinson, SB., et al.[2022]

Colored fractional anisotropy (FA) mapping can effectively identify the prelemniscal radiations (Raprl), which serve as reliable landmarks for locating the borders of the Vim nucleus in patients undergoing gamma knife thalamotomy for tremor management.

In a study of 18 patients, the mean distance between the Raprl and the Vim nucleus was found to be very small (0.77 mm), indicating that FA mapping can enhance the precision of targeting this critical area in the brain for surgical interventions.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Prelemniscal Radiations: A New Reliable Landmark of the Thalamic Nucleus Ventralis Intermedius Location. Lefranc, M., Carron, R., Regis, J.[2016]

Citations

1. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7328410/

Asleep Deep Brain Stimulation of the Nucleus Ventralis ... Asleep Vim DBS using indirect targeting and interventional magnetic resonance imaging–guided placement is safe and effective, with 6-month clinical results ...

2. sciencedirect.com sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1878875024004303/pdf

Loss of Efficacy in Ventral Intermediate Nucleus ... The primary aim of this study is to report long-term outcomes associated with deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the ventral intermediate nucleus (VIM) performed ...

3. neurology.org neurology.org/doi/10.1212/WNL.0b013e318249f702

The tremor network targeted by successful VIM deep brain ... Deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the ventral intermediate nucleus of thalamus (VIM) is performed in medically intractable tremor, especially for essential tremor ...

4. thejns.org thejns.org/view/journals/j-neurosurg/136/3/article-p662.xml

Direct targeting of the ventral intermediate nucleus of the ... The ventral intermediate nucleus of the thalamus (VIM) is an effective target for deep brain stimulation (DBS) to control symptoms related to essential tremor.

5. link.springer.com link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10143-025-03898-z

Comparative efficacy of PSA and VIM deep brain ... Deep brain stimulation (DBS) has emerged as a promising surgical treatment for refractory ET, offering potential for sustained tremor reduction ...

6. sciencedirect.com sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022510X22000521

Deep brain stimulation for the treatment of tremor The most common DBS target for suppression of tremor is the ventralis intermedius (Vim) nucleus of the thalamus. Other structures targeted for ...

7. neurology.org neurology.org/doi/10.1212/WNL.0000000000005956

DBS of the PSA and the VIM in essential tremor For medication-refractory cases, deep brain stimulation (DBS) is an established, effective, and safe treatment. The ventral intermediate nucleus of the thalamus ...

8. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8220085/

Stimulation-Induced Side Effects of Deep Brain ... The most common stimulation-induced side effect associated with VIM DBS was dysarthria, while that associated with PSA DBS was gait disturbance.