Freezing of Gait in Parkinson’s Disease Patients Treated with Bilateral Subthalamic Nucleus Deep Brain Stimulation: A Long-Term Overview

Analyses of the clinical factors and freezing of gait in association with the quality-of-life indexes in Parkinson's disease subjects with and without STN-DBS therapy

INTRODUCTION

In this research, paying particular attention to freezıng of gait (FOG), we aimed to investigate the associations between the clinical features and quality of lilfe (QOL) indexes comparatively in our PD subjects with and without STN-DBS therapy.

METHODS

All consecutive PD subjects with and without STN-DBS who applied to our movement disorders outpatient clinics between January/2022 and September/2022; and accepted to participate in the study were enrolled. The demographic data and clinical features were noted. Besides, the MDS-UPDRS, the FOG Questionnaire (FOGQ) and the Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire (PDQ-39) have also been performed on all individuals.

RESULTS

Overall, 105 patients with PD participated in this study (34 patients with STN-DBS, 71 patients without STN-DBS). No difference was found in the PDQ-39 scores between patients with and without STN-DBS. The correlation analyses between the PQQ-39 scores and the clinical parameters revealed significant moderate correlations with the FOGQ score and low correlations with MDS-UPDRS scores. The analyses repeated in either patient group showed that there were no correlations between the MDS-UPDRS scores and PDQ-39 indexes in the DBS group. Besides, the correlations between the PDQ-39 scores and the FOG scores were more prominent in patients without DBS therapy.

CONCLUSION

FOG was found to be associated with worse QOL status in both patients with and without STN-DBS therapy. However, the correlations analyses in either group showed that FOG was a more significant determinant in the QOL indexes in patients without DBS. Future studies evaluating the impact of other clinical features such as falls and gait impairment in QOL of patients with STN-DBS may provide contributions to the current evidence.

Longitudinal Neuropsychological Assessment of Symptomatic Edema after Subthalamic Nucleus Deep Brain Stimulation Surgery: A Case Series Study

Severe non-infectious or non-haemorrhagic brain edema surrounding the electrode represents a rare complication of subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation (STN-DBS) surgery. The aim of this study is to report three patients with advanced Parkinson's Disease (PD) who developed symptomatic brain edema after STN-DBS surgery treated with intravenous steroids with a specific profile of reversible cognitive alterations. Patients were both assessed with a comprehensive neuropsychological battery including attention, memory, visuo-spatial and executive tasks. They were also briefly assessed for emotional and behavioural alterations, and for possible limitations in the activities of daily living. Normative data for an Italian population were available for all neuropsychological tests. The patients were firstly assessed before the surgery (baseline) as soon as they became symptomatic for the post-surgery edema and a few more times in follow-up up to ten months. In all patients we observed the resolution of cognitive deficits within six months after surgery with the corresponding reabsorption of edema at brain CT scans. The appearance of post-DBS edema is a fairly frequent and clinically benign event. However, in some rare cases it can be very marked and lead to important clinical-albeit transient-disturbances. These events can compromise, at least from a psychological point of view, the delicate path of patients who undergo DBS and can prolong the post-operative hospital stay. In this setting it could be helpful to perform a brain CT scan in 2-3 days with the aim of detecting the early appearance of edema and treating it before it can constitute a relevant clinical problem.

Long-term effects of bilateral subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation on gait disorders in Parkinson's disease: a clinical-instrumental study

OBJECTIVE

To assess the long-term effects of bilateral subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation (STN-DBS) on gait in a cohort of advanced Parkinson's Disease (PD) patients.

METHODS

This observational study included consecutive PD patients treated with bilateral STN-DBS. Different stimulation and drug treatment conditions were assessed: on-stimulation/off-medication, off-stimulation/off-medication, and on-stimulation/on-medication. Each patient performed the instrumented Timed Up and Go test (iTUG). The instrumental evaluation of walking ability was carried out with a wearable inertial sensor containing a three-dimensional (3D) accelerometer, gyroscope, and magnetometer. This device could provide 3D linear acceleration, angular velocity, and magnetic field vector. Disease motor severity was evaluated with the total score and subscores of the Unified Parkinson Disease Rating Scale part III.

RESULTS

Twenty-five PD patients with a 5-years median follow-up after surgery (range 3-7) were included (18 men; mean disease duration at surgery 10.44 ± 4.62 years; mean age at surgery 58.40 ± 5.73 years). Both stimulation and medication reduced the total duration of the iTUG and most of its different phases, suggesting a long-term beneficial effect on gait after surgery. However, comparing the two treatments, dopaminergic therapy had a more marked effect in all test phases. STN-DBS alone reduced total iTUG duration, sit-to-stand, and second turn phases duration, while it had a lower effect on stand-to-sit, first turn, forward walking, and walking backward phases duration.

CONCLUSIONS

This study highlighted that in the long-term after surgery, STN-DBS may contribute to gait and postural control improvement when used together with dopamine replacement therapy, which still shows a substantial beneficial effect.

Long-term effects of subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation on speech in Parkinson's disease

Bilateral subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation (STN-DBS) is an effective treatment in advanced Parkinson's Disease (PD). However, the effects of STN-DBS on speech are still debated, particularly in the long-term follow-up. The objective of this study was to evaluate the long-term effects of bilateral STN-DBS on speech in a cohort of advanced PD patients treated with bilateral STN-DBS. Each patient was assessed before surgery through a neurological evaluation and a perceptual-acoustic analysis of speech and re-assessed in the long-term in different stimulation and drug conditions. The primary outcome was the percentage change of speech intelligibility obtained by comparing the postoperative on-stimulation/off-medication condition with the preoperative off-medication condition. Twenty-five PD patients treated with bilateral STN-DBS with a 5-year follow-up were included. In the long-term, speech intelligibility stayed at the same level as preoperative values when compared with preoperative values. STN-DBS induced a significant acute improvement of speech intelligibility (p < 0.005) in the postoperative assessment when compared to the on-stimulation/off-medication and off-stimulation/off-medication conditions. These results highlight that STN-DBS may handle speech intelligibility even in the long-term.