Brian Moore of South Carolina had lived with debilitating tremors most of his life. He suffers from essential tremor, a nervous system condition that causes uncontrollable shaking. His everyday life was difficult in so many ways — from buttoning a shirt, to using a key to unlock a door, to eating with a fork.
As a child, his dream was to be a musician, but by his late teens, he had given up that dream.
Since his tremors could not be managed with medication, Moore sought out another option, and found it at Duke with neurosurgeon Stephen Harward, MD, PhD. In October 2023, he underwent a no-incision brain surgery called high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU), a new treatment that uses targeted sound waves and has immediate results.
“After 50 years of living with tremor and in the blink of an eye, it’s gone,” said Moore. “It’s not possible to describe adequately.”
Watch Moore’s story in this news clip.