Journal of neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry
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J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatr. · Sep 2019
Shorter pulse width reduces gait disturbances following deep brain stimulation for essential tremor.
Gait disturbances are frequent side effects occurring during chronic thalamic deep brain stimulation (DBS) in patients with essential tremor (ET). Adapting stimulation settings to shorter pulse widths has been shown to reduce side effects of subthalamic DBS. Here, we assess how a reduction of pulse width changes gait performance of affected patients. ⋯ Shorter pulse widths may reduce gait disturbances in patients with ET that are induced by DBS while preserving a level of tremor suppression equal to standard stimulation settings.