Essential Tremor (ET) is a neurological condition that causes involuntary and rhythmic shaking of almost any part of the body. The difference between essential tremor (ET) and a Parkinson’s type tremor is no tremor at rest. Often confused with Parkinson’s disease, ET is eight times more common, affecting an estimated 10 million people in the U.S.
“A patient could be sitting here with their hands nice and relaxed - no tremor. But then when they reach for a cup of coffee, go to write or hold a newspaper, suddenly there’s shaking,” neurosurgeon Kara Beasley, DO says of this isolating disease.
For all patients with essential tremor, medication is the first option. A good candidate for this procedure is a patient:
Focused ultrasound is a safe, incisionless and non-invasive treatment that uses focused beams of acoustic energy to heat and destroy a small, targeted area of tissue in the brain where tremor cells are located — all without harming adjacent tissues.
The nonsurgical technique is performed while a patient is awake inside an MRI scanner. The scanner allows the physician to precisely plan the procedure and treat only the intended area.
Dr. Kara Beasley, a highly experienced and respected neurosurgeon, has performed over 100 MR-guided focused ultrasound treatments for essential tremor at BCH’s Foothills Hospital since the program began in July 2020. Her patients have traveled to Boulder from 40 states for this procedure.
“The part of my job that makes every single day worth getting up and going to work is the Surgical Movement Disorder Program we created at BCH,” Dr. Beasley says. “We’ve worked very hard to become a Center of Excellence that provides state-of-the art technologies and new treatment options. We brought this technology here because we saw the need in our own community for people who are not interested in Deep Brain Stimulation or people who are not candidates for Deep Brain Stimulation.”
Dr. Beasley is one of the only dual credentialed neurosurgeon bioethicists in the world and is fully trained as a general neurosurgeon in cranial and spinal trauma, endoscopic and open tumor surgery, radiosurgery, and complex disorders of the spine - including tumor and degenerative spinal disease, and neuromodulation.
Her areas of interest include tumor, deep brain stimulation for movement disorders and neuromodulation for refractory chronic pain. She has extensive expertise in treating Parkinson’s disease, essential tremor and epilepsy.
Education and Training:
Fellowship: Stereotactic Radiosurgery at Cooper University Hospital, Camden, NJ
Fellowship: Functional and Restorative Neurosurgery at The Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH
Training: Clinical Scholarship in Advanced Epilepsy Surgical Techniques, The Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH
Training: Neuroethics at The Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH
Residency: Neurosurgery at Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, PA
Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine: Midwestern University, Glenda, AZ
Masters of Arts in Biomedical Ethics at Midwestern University, Glendale, AZ
