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Behmer Hansen RT, Dubey A, Smith C, Henry PJ, Mammis A. Paediatric deep brain stimulation: ethical considerations in malignant Tourette syndrome. JOURNAL OF MEDICAL ETHICS 2020; 46:668-673. [PMID: 32366702 DOI: 10.1136/medethics-2020-106074] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2020] [Revised: 02/29/2020] [Accepted: 03/27/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Gilles de la Tourette syndrome (TS) is a childhood neuropsychiatric disorder characterised by the presence of motor and vocal tics. Patients with malignant TS experience severe disease sequelae; risking morbidity and mortality due to tics, self-harm, psychiatric comorbidities and suicide. By definition, those cases termed 'malignant' are refractory to all conventional psychiatric and pharmacological regimens. In these instances, deep brain stimulation (DBS) may be efficacious. Current 2015 guidelines recommend a 6-month period absent of suicidal ideation before DBS is offered to patients with TS. We therefore wondered whether it may be ethically justifiable to offer DBS to a minor with malignant TS. We begin with a discussion of non-maleficence and beneficence. New evidence suggests that suicide risk in young patients with TS has been underestimated. In turn, DBS may represent an invaluable opportunity for children with malignant TS to secure future safety, independence and fulfilment. Postponing treatment is associated with additional risks. Ultimately, we assert this unique risk-benefit calculus justifies offering DBS to paediatric patients with malignant TS. A multidisciplinary team of clinicians must determine whether DBS is in the best interest of their individual patients. We conclude with a suggestion for future TS-DBS guidelines regarding suicidal ideation. The importance of informed consent and assent is underscored.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Arjun Dubey
- School of Medicine, The University of Notre Dame Australia, Fremantle, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Cynthia Smith
- Department of Neurological Surgery, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Newark, New Jersey, USA
| | - Patrick J Henry
- Department of Neurological Surgery, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Newark, New Jersey, USA
| | - Antonios Mammis
- Department of Neurological Surgery, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Newark, New Jersey, USA
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Welter ML, Houeto JL, Thobois S, Bataille B, Guenot M, Worbe Y, Hartmann A, Czernecki V, Bardinet E, Yelnik J, du Montcel ST, Agid Y, Vidailhet M, Cornu P, Tanguy A, Ansquer S, Jaafari N, Poulet E, Serra G, Burbaud P, Cuny E, Aouizerate B, Pollak P, Chabardes S, Polosan M, Borg M, Fontaine D, Giordana B, Raoul S, Rouaud T, Sauvaget A, Jalenques I, Karachi C, Mallet L. Anterior pallidal deep brain stimulation for Tourette's syndrome: a randomised, double-blind, controlled trial. Lancet Neurol 2017. [PMID: 28645853 DOI: 10.1016/s1474-4422(17)30160-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 71] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Deep brain stimulation (DBS) has been proposed to treat patients with severe Tourette's syndrome, and open-label trials and two small double-blind trials have tested DBS of the posterior and the anterior internal globus pallidus (aGPi). We aimed to specifically assess the efficacy of aGPi DBS for severe Tourette's syndrome. METHODS In this randomised, double-blind, controlled trial, we recruited patients aged 18-60 years with severe and medically refractory Tourette's syndrome from eight hospitals specialised in movement disorders in France. Enrolled patients received surgery to implant bilateral electrodes for aGPi DBS; 3 months later they were randomly assigned (1:1 ratio with a block size of eight; computer-generated pairwise randomisation according to order of enrolment) to receive either active or sham stimulation for the subsequent 3 months in a double-blind fashion. All patients then received open-label active stimulation for the subsequent 6 months. Patients and clinicians assessing outcomes were masked to treatment allocation; an unmasked clinician was responsible for stimulation parameter programming, with intensity set below the side-effect threshold. The primary endpoint was difference in Yale Global Tic Severity Scale (YGTSS) score between the beginning and end of the 3 month double-blind period, as assessed with a Mann-Whitney-Wilcoxon test in all randomly allocated patients who received active or sham stimulation during the double-blind period. We assessed safety in all patients who were enrolled and received surgery for aGPi DBS. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT00478842. FINDINGS Between Dec 6, 2007, and Dec 13, 2012, we enrolled 19 patients. We randomly assigned 17 (89%) patients, with 16 completing blinded assessments (seven [44%] in the active stimulation group and nine [56%] in the sham stimulation group). We noted no significant difference in YGTSS score change between the beginning and the end of the 3 month double-blind period between groups (active group median YGTSS score 68·5 [IQR 34·0 to 83·5] at the beginning and 62·5 [51·5 to 72·0] at the end, median change 1·1% [IQR -23·9 to 38·1]; sham group 73·0 [69·0 to 79·0] and 79·0 [59·0 to 81·5], median change 0·0% [-10·6 to 4·8]; p=0·39). 15 serious adverse events (three in patients who withdrew before stimulation and six each in the active and sham stimulation groups) occurred in 13 patients (three who withdrew before randomisation, four in the active group, and six in the sham group), with infections in DBS hardware in four patients (two who withdrew before randomisation, one in the sham stimulation group, and one in the active stimulation group). Other serious adverse events included one electrode misplacement (active stimulation group), one episode of depressive signs (active stimulation group), and three episodes of increased tic severity and anxiety (two in the sham stimulation group and one in the active stimulation group). INTERPRETATION 3 months of aGPi DBS is insufficient to decrease tic severity for patients with Tourette's syndrome. Future research is needed to investigate the efficacy of aGPi DBS for patients over longer periods with optimal stimulation parameters and to identify potential predictors of the therapeutic response. FUNDING French Ministry of Health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marie-Laure Welter
- Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP), Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, Neurology Department, Paris, France; Clinical Investigation Centre, INSERM 1127, Sorbonne Universités, Université Pierre et Marie Curie Université Paris 06, Paris, France; Unité Mixte de Recherche (UMR) S1127, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), UMR 7225, Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle Epinière, Paris, France.
| | - Jean-Luc Houeto
- Department of Neurology, INSERM-Centre d'Investigation Clinique 1402, University of Poitiers, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire (CHU) de Poitiers, Poitiers, France
| | - Stéphane Thobois
- Department of Neurology C, Hôpital Neurologique, Edouard Herriot Hospital, Hospices Civils de Lyon, Lyon, France; CNRS, Lyon Centre for Neuroscience Research, University Lyon 1, Bron, France
| | - Benoit Bataille
- Department of Neurosurgery, INSERM-Centre d'Investigation Clinique 1402, University of Poitiers, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire (CHU) de Poitiers, Poitiers, France
| | - Marc Guenot
- Department of Neurosurgery A, Hôpital Neurologique, Edouard Herriot Hospital, Hospices Civils de Lyon, Lyon, France
| | - Yulia Worbe
- Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP), Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, Neurology Department, Paris, France
| | - Andreas Hartmann
- Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP), Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, Neurology Department, Paris, France
| | - Virginie Czernecki
- Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP), Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, Neurology Department, Paris, France
| | - Eric Bardinet
- Unité Mixte de Recherche (UMR) S1127, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), UMR 7225, Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle Epinière, Paris, France
| | - Jerome Yelnik
- Unité Mixte de Recherche (UMR) S1127, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), UMR 7225, Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle Epinière, Paris, France
| | - Sophie Tezenas du Montcel
- AP-HP, Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, Biostatistics and Medical Informatics Unit and Clinical Research Unit, Paris, France; Sorbonne Universités, Université Pierre et Marie Curie Université Paris 06, UMR S1136, Institut Pierre Louis d'Epidémiologie et de Santé Publique, Paris, France
| | - Yves Agid
- Unité Mixte de Recherche (UMR) S1127, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), UMR 7225, Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle Epinière, Paris, France
| | - Marie Vidailhet
- Unité Mixte de Recherche (UMR) S1127, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), UMR 7225, Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle Epinière, Paris, France
| | - Philippe Cornu
- Neurosurgery, INSERM 1127, Sorbonne Universités, Université Pierre et Marie Curie Université Paris 06, Paris, France
| | - Audrey Tanguy
- AP-HP, Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, Biostatistics and Medical Informatics Unit and Clinical Research Unit, Paris, France
| | - Solène Ansquer
- Department of Neurology, INSERM-Centre d'Investigation Clinique 1402, University of Poitiers, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire (CHU) de Poitiers, Poitiers, France
| | - Nematollah Jaafari
- Department of Psychiatry, INSERM-Centre d'Investigation Clinique 1402, University of Poitiers, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire (CHU) de Poitiers, Poitiers, France
| | - Emmanuel Poulet
- PsyR2 Team, U 1028, INSERM and UMR 5292, Centre Hospitalier Le Vinatier, Bron, France
| | - Giulia Serra
- Department of Neurology C, Hôpital Neurologique, Edouard Herriot Hospital, Hospices Civils de Lyon, Lyon, France
| | - Pierre Burbaud
- Department of Neurophysiology, Charles Perrens Hospital, University Bordeaux 2, CNRS UMR 5543, Bordeaux, France
| | - Emmanuel Cuny
- Department of Neurosurgery, Charles Perrens Hospital, University Bordeaux 2, CNRS UMR 5543, Bordeaux, France
| | - Bruno Aouizerate
- Department of Psychiatry, Charles Perrens Hospital, University Bordeaux 2, CNRS UMR 5543, Bordeaux, France
| | - Pierre Pollak
- Department of Neurology, Grenoble Alpes University, CHU Grenoble, Grenoble, France
| | - Stephan Chabardes
- Department of Neurosurgery, Grenoble Alpes University, CHU Grenoble, Grenoble, France
| | - Mircea Polosan
- Department of Psychiatry, Grenoble Alpes University, CHU Grenoble, Grenoble, France
| | - Michel Borg
- Department of Neurology, University Hospital, Nice, France
| | - Denys Fontaine
- Department of Neurosurgery, University Hospital, Nice, France
| | - Bruno Giordana
- Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital, Nice, France
| | - Sylvie Raoul
- Department of Neurosurgery, Nantes University Hospital, Nantes, France
| | - Tiphaine Rouaud
- Department of Neurology, Nantes University Hospital, Nantes, France
| | - Anne Sauvaget
- Department of Psychiatry, Nantes University Hospital, Nantes, France
| | - Isabelle Jalenques
- Department of Psychiatry, CHU Clermont-Ferrand and Clermont Auvergne University, Equipe d'Accueil 7280, Clermont-Ferrand, France
| | - Carine Karachi
- Neurosurgery, INSERM 1127, Sorbonne Universités, Université Pierre et Marie Curie Université Paris 06, Paris, France; Unité Mixte de Recherche (UMR) S1127, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), UMR 7225, Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle Epinière, Paris, France
| | - Luc Mallet
- Unité Mixte de Recherche (UMR) S1127, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), UMR 7225, Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle Epinière, Paris, France; AP-HP, Personalised Neurology and Psychiatry University Department, Hôpitaux Universitaires Henri Mondor - Albert Chenevier, Université Paris Est Créteil, Créteil, France; Department of Mental Health and Psychiatry, Geneva University Hospital, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
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