The creator of Downton Abbey and The Gilded Age, Lord Julian Fellowes, has spoken about his successful treatment for essential tremor with MR-guided focused ultrasound (MRgFUS).
The 76-year-old Oscar-winning writer was treated at London's St. Mary Hospital in Spring 2025. He had lived with the tremor for over 10 years. "At the beginning I was in denial," he said. "But gradually I realised it was a condition."
MR-guided focused ultrasound was performed on Julian Fellowes at St. Mary's Hospital.Screenshot captured from Focused Ultrasound Foundation video.
Exablate Neuro from Insightec was used for the procedure. The system uses a helmet that delivers high-frequency sound waves to a precise target in the brain, creating a small, permanent burn to ablate the targeted tissue. Treatment is guided by MRI for real-time temperature monitoring, which allows for immediate confirmation of the treatment's outcome.
According to a 17 September press release from Imperial College, "The clinical team direct up to 1,000 ultrasound beams through the head to a 1 mm focal point deep within the brain where the neurons that are responsible for sending the faulty signals are located. The ultrasound beams generate heat at the focal point, which in turn creates a permanent lesion to block the faulty signals."
The system has received regulatory approval in more than 25 countries to treat essential tremor, Insightec pointed out.
Fellowes serves as Honorary President of the National Tremor Foundation, which recently hosted a U.K. parliamentary meeting to raise awareness of unmet needs of patients affected by essential tremor, a neurological disorder that causes involuntary shaking.
"Why do so few people know about essential tremor, including me?" he said, adding that he hopes he can be of some use in getting the disorder known. "For me at least, the treatment was worth it and I haven't regretted it for one second."
The Focused Ultrasound Foundation featured the news and a video of Fellowes' experience here. The video features interviews with neurologists Dr. Peter Bain and Dr. Brymor Jones and neurosurgeon Mr. Neekhil Patel, all of St. Mary Hospital and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, London. At the end of the video, acknowledgment is given the financial support from Insightec, and there is also important safety information about MRgFUS.
