- \n
- Chuck\u2019s Parkinson\u2019s disease symptoms \u2013 including tremors and rigidity \u2013 disrupted his personal and professional life.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Although Chuck was excited to take part in a focused ultrasound clinical trial, his wife Maureen, a physician, was hesitant.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Now, three months after the procedure, Chuck has resumed his work and hobbies and is preparing for his second focused ultrasound treatment.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cdn.fusfoundation.org\/2022\/09\/27234956\/Chuck-Walker_PD-patient_Chuck-and-Maureen-hiking-300x247.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nChuck Walker and his wife Maureen Whelihan, MD, are avid adventure seekers, and exercise is part of their daily lives. They enjoy hiking, running, boating, riding motorcycles, and simply being outdoors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But while on a routine run in 2013, Chuck noted a problem with his gait \u2013 he was landing flatfooted on his right side. The symptoms steadily progressed to more obvious right-sided rigidity and tremors. He saw a neurologist at the urging of his partner Maureen, who is an obstetrician-gynecologist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe doctor diagnosed me with Parkinson\u2019s disease right away,\u201d Chuck recalled. \u201cThat was pretty devastating.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His symptoms impeded many of the hobbies that he and Maureen enjoyed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhen I would ride behind him on my motorcycle, I noticed that his brake light would flicker constantly,\u201d she said. \u201cI assumed it was a faulty bulb until I realized that the hand that was most affected by the tremors also controlled the brake. It was his tremors lightly hitting the brake, and soon it became dangerous for him to ride.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n
\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cdn.fusfoundation.org\/2022\/09\/27235244\/Chuck-Walker_PD-patient_motorcycle-2-300x225.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nBeyond his hobbies, the Parkinson\u2019s symptoms also began to hinder his professional life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI own my own indoor air quality business and was often on the speaker circuit, but I became uncomfortable with the travel and public speaking,\u201d Chuck said. \u201cThe added nerves made my tremors worse, and I didn\u2019t want the shaking to detract from my message on stage.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Following his diagnosis, Chuck\u2019s doctor prescribed medications to control the disease. After much trial and error with various drugs, he found a regimen that worked but didn\u2019t like how the medications made him feel. He was also hesitant about surgical interventions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t want deep brain stimulation,\u201d recalled Chuck. \u201cI didn\u2019t want the wires, and the surgery, and the battery pack.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 2018, Chuck attended a Parkinson\u2019s disease symposium in South Florida and learned about focused ultrasound. He immediately told Maureen about the new treatment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI was actually quite familiar with focused ultrasound because it has been used to treat uterine fibroids for some time, but I wasn\u2019t aware that it was being used in the brain,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That\u2019s when Maureen reached out to a colleague of more than 15 years, who is also the Foundation\u2019s Director of Clinical Relationships, Suzanne LeBlang, MD.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSusie met us for dinner and told us about the clinical trials for Parkinson\u2019s,\u201d Chuck recalled. \u201cUnfortunately, when I brought it up to my neurologist, he wasn\u2019t initially receptive to the idea because he was an expert in deep brain stimulation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Maureen was also wholeheartedly against the idea of a phase II safety trial.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAs a medical professional, I know enough about the anatomy of the brain that I was uncomfortable with the idea of my loved one taking part in a neurological clinical trial,\u201d she said. \u201cI didn\u2019t doubt the technology, because I knew the level of precision that focused ultrasound is capable of \u2013 but I didn\u2019t want to have it tested on Chuck. I honestly thought his disease had not progressed enough to try experimental procedures. I really put the doctors though the ringer asking questions and making sure that Chuck knew the pros and cons.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, Chuck was not taking no for an answer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAs soon as I learned about the trial, I knew I would participate if I was a good candidate,\u201d he said. \u201cI was going to have this procedure. And once we decided to go for it, Maureen and I approached the physician as a patient-doctor team.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ultimately, the neurologist referred Chuck to a neurosurgeon who was treating patients as part of a Parkinson\u2019s disease clinical trial using focused ultrasound to target a system of nerve fibers in the middle of the brain called the pallidothalamic tract. He scheduled treatment for July 2022. On the morning of treatment, Chuck remembers that the most daunting part was when doctors placed the stereotactic frame on his head to ensure it remained still during treatment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI was ready; I wasn\u2019t nervous,\u201d he recalled. \u201cIn all, they did six sonications on the side of my brain that affects the right side of my body. The first three sonications were low power to make sure they were targeting the right place, and then they started treating with higher power. By the fourth sonication, my tremor was gone, but they really wanted to relieve my rigidity. After six sonications, the doctors were confident they had achieved their goal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He returned home later that day, and Maureen remained vigilant for any side effects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThose first few days, I was watching very closely for any complications,\u201d she said. \u201cThe only thing I noticed was that he began to say aloud anything he was reading or writing. I thought that was odd, but it was all coherent; nothing was jumbled. Ultimately, that symptom was transient and resolved quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thankfully, Maureen also noticed positive effects from the focused ultrasound.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAfter a few days, he was cleared for light exercise, and we went for a walk. I noticed immediately that his right arm was swinging like normal without any effort. After a week, his shoulders relaxed, and he was standing up straighter.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n
\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cdn.fusfoundation.org\/2022\/09\/27235349\/Chuck-Walker_PD-patient_work-222x300.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nIt has now been nearly three months since his treatment. Chuck has started running again, gotten back in the gym, and is comfortable making presentations at work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He is also looking forward to another treatment. The clinical trial that Chuck took part in is a bilateral trial, meaning patients have the option to have the other side of their brain treated later. He is planning to schedule the second focused ultrasound procedure for later this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFocused ultrasound has really changed my life,\u201d he said. \u201cMaureen and I are thrilled that the Foundation is dedicated to advancing this research, and we are true advocates for this technology. We would be happy to talk with any patients considering the treatment or physicians who remain skeptical about its benefits.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
*There are a number of different targets in the brain that are being investigated for focused ultrasound treatment of Parkinson\u2019s <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_searchwp_excluded":"","_editorskit_title_hidden":false,"_editorskit_reading_time":0,"_editorskit_is_block_options_detached":false,"_editorskit_block_options_position":"{}","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_vp_format_video_url":"","_vp_image_focal_point":[],"footnotes":""},"sw_profile_cat":[303],"class_list":["post-30323","sw_profile","type-sw_profile","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Chuck Walker - Focused Ultrasound Foundation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fusfoundation.org\/profiles\/chuck-walker\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Chuck Walker\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Parkinson\u2019s Patient Story: Focused Ultrasound Clinical Trial Turns Skeptic into Advocate Key Points Chuck Walker and his wife Maureen Whelihan, MD, are avid adventure seekers, and exercise is part of their daily lives. They enjoy hiking, running, boating, riding motorcycles, and simply being outdoors. 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