Factors influencing the reliability of intraoperative testing in deep brain stimulation for Parkinson’s disease

Background Several meta-analyses comparing the outcome of awake versus asleep deep brain stimulation procedures could not reveal significant differences concerning the postoperative improvement of motor symptoms. Only rarely information on the procedural details is provided for awake operations and how often somnolence and disorientation occurred, which might hamper the reliability of intraoperative clinical testing. The aim of our study was to investigate possible influencing factors on the occurrence of somnolence and disorientation in awake DBS procedures. Methods We retrospectively analyzed 122 patients with Parkinson's disease having received implantation of a DBS system at our centre. Correlation analyses were performed for the duration of disease prior to surgery, number of microelectrode trajectories, AC-PC-coordinates of the planned target, UPDRS-scores, intraoperative application of sedative drugs, duration of the surgical procedure, perioperative application of apomorphine, and the preoperative L-DOPA equivalence dosage with the occurrence of intraoperative somnolence and disorientation. Results Patients with intraoperative somnolence were significantly older (p=0.039). Increased duration of the DBS procedure (p=0.020), delayed start of the surgery (p=0.049), higher number of MER trajectories (p=0.041), and the patients’ % UPDRS improvement (p=0.046) also correlated with the incidence of intraoperative somnolence. We identified the main contributing factor to intraoperative somnolence as the use of sedative drugs applied during skin incision and burr hole trepanation (p=0.019). Perioperatively applied apomorphine could reduce the occurrence of somnolent phases during the operation (p=0.026). Conclusion Several influencing factors were found to seemingly increase the risk of intraoperative somnolence and disorientation, while the use of sedative drugs seems to be the main contributing factor. We argue that awake DBS procedures should omit the use of sedatives for best clinical outcome. When reporting on awake DBS surgery these factors should be considered and adjusted for, to permit reliable interpretation and comparison of DBS study results

A closed loop brain-machine interface for epilepsy control using dorsal column electrical stimulation

Although electrical neurostimulation has been proposed as an alternative treatment for drug-resistant cases of epilepsy, current procedures such as deep brain stimulation, vagus, and trigeminal nerve stimulation are effective only in a fraction of the patients. Here we demonstrate a closed loop brain-machine interface that delivers electrical stimulation to the dorsal column (DCS) of the spinal cord to suppress epileptic seizures. Rats were implanted with cortical recording microelectrodes and spinal cord stimulating electrodes, and then injected with pentylenetetrazole to induce seizures. Seizures were detected in real time from cortical local field potentials, after which DCS was applied. This method decreased seizure episode frequency by 44% and seizure duration by 38%. We argue that the therapeutic effect of DCS is related to modulation of cortical theta waves, and propose that this closed-loop interface has the potential to become an effective and semi-invasive treatment for refractory epilepsy and other neurological disorders.We are grateful for the assistance from Jim Meloy for the design and production of the multielectrode arrays as well as setup development and maintenance, Laura Oliveira, Terry Jones, and Susan Halkiotis for administrative assistance and preparation of the manuscript. This work was funded by a grant from The Hartwell Foundation.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Validation of diffusion tensor imaging tractography to visualize the dentatorubrothalamic tract for surgical planning.

OBJECTIVE The dentatorubrothalamic tract (DRTT) has been suggested as the anatomical substrate for deep brain stimulation (DBS)-induced tremor alleviation. So far, little is known about how accurately and reliably tracking results correspond to the anatomical DRTT. The objective of this study was to systematically investigate and validate the results of different tractography approaches for surgical planning. METHODS The authors retrospectively analyzed 4 methodological approaches for diffusion tensor imaging (DTI)-based fiber tracking using different regions of interest in 6 patients with essential tremor. Tracking results were analyzed and validated with reference to MRI-based anatomical landmarks, were projected onto the stereotactic atlas of Morel at 3 predetermined levels (vertical levels -3.6, -1.8, and 0 mm below the anterior commissure-posterior commissure line), and were correlated to clinical outcome. RESULTS The 4 different methodologies for tracking the DRTT led to divergent results with respect to the MRI-based anatomical landmarks and when projected onto the stereotactic atlas of Morel. There was a statistically significant difference in the lateral and anteroposterior coordinates at the 3 vertical levels (p < 0.001, 2-way ANOVA). Different fractional anisotropy values ranging from 0.1 to 0.46 were required for anatomically plausible tracking results and led to varying degrees of success. Tracking results were not correlated to postoperative tremor reduction. CONCLUSIONS Different tracking methods can yield results with good anatomical approximation. The authors recommend using 3 regions of interest including the dentate nucleus of the cerebellum, the posterior subthalamic area, and the precentral gyrus to visualize the DRTT. Tracking results must be cautiously evaluated for anatomical plausibility and accuracy in each patient