A public revelation from a patient is highlighting a promising, non-invasive medical technology for managing Parkinson's disease symptoms. Rebecca King-Crews, a singer and designer, has shared that a procedure called Bilateral Focused Ultrasound is helping her recover motor control after living with a Parkinson's diagnosis for over a decade.
King-Crews described first noticing subtle symptoms in 2012, including numbness and an arm that wouldn't swing naturally while walking. After years of advocacy, she received an official diagnosis in 2015. She chose to keep her condition private until now, motivated by the positive results she has experienced from the focused ultrasound treatment. "The only reason I'm going public is that I finally have some uplifting information to offer," she said, noting she can now write her name and balance on her right leg.
The procedure, which she underwent at Stanford Hospital, uses targeted sound waves to address the brain areas causing tremors and other motor symptoms without any surgical incision. King-Crews has so far had the treatment on the right side of her brain, which affects the left side of the body, and reports life-changing improvement. She plans to have the procedure repeated on the other side. Her husband, actor Terry Crews, who supported her through years of research, called watching her write her name for the first time in three years an emotionally powerful moment. "I see this as the beginning of a cure," he said.
Looking forward, King-Crews aims to use her story to raise awareness and accessibility for the technology. She emphasizes that focused ultrasound represents a new frontier in medicine, also used for certain tumours, with benefits like reduced surgical risk. A significant hurdle remains its cost and lack of widespread insurance coverage. Her advocacy is now focused on providing hope to others with Parkinson's and helping to make such advanced treatments available to a broader population.