4 research outputs found
Deep Brain Stimulation in Parkinson's Disease
During the last 15 years deep brain stimulation (DBS) has been established as a
highly-effective therapy for advanced Parkinson's disease (PD).
Patient selection, stereotactic implantation, postoperative stimulator
programming and patient care requires a multi-disciplinary team including
movement disorders specialists in neurology and functional neurosurgery. To
treat medically refractory levodopa-induced motor complications or resistant
tremor the preferred target for high-frequency DBS is the subthalamic nucleus
(STN). STN-DBS results in significant reduction of dyskinesias and dopaminergic
medication, improvement of all cardinal motor symptoms with sustained long-term
benefits, and significant improvement of quality of life when compared with best
medical treatment. These benefits have to be weighed against potential
surgery-related adverse events, device-related complications, and
stimulus-induced side effects. The mean disease duration before initiating DBS
in PD is currently about 13 years. It is presently investigated whether the
optimal timing for implantation may be at an earlier disease-stage to prevent
psychosocial decline and to maintain quality of life for a longer period of
time