Movement disorders : official journal of the Movement Disorder Society
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Controlled Clinical Trial
Bilateral subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation improves certain aspects of postural control in Parkinson's disease, whereas medication does not.
Postural control requires precise integration of sensory inputs and motor output, but clinical assessments of postural control do not differentiate between these. Previously, we found that this differentiation is important in Parkinson's disease (PD) as there was a dissociated effect of medication versus pallidotomy on sensory aspects of postural instability. ⋯ Neither B-STN DBS nor medication improved postural RT. For the group as a whole, STN DBS plus medication was better therapy than medication preoperatively for sensory aspects of postural control (P = 0.003).
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Comparative Study
End of day dyskinesia in advanced Parkinson's disease can be eliminated by bilateral subthalamic nucleus or globus pallidus deep brain stimulation.
We report the therapeutic effects of deep brain stimulation (DBS) in 2 patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) with severe end of dose dyskinesia that was resistant to medical therapy. In both patients, severe, end of day ballistic dyskinesias occurred when the last levodopa dose of the day was wearing off. Globus pallidus (GPi) DBS in 1 case and subthalamic (STN) DBS in the second case produced full resolution of end of day dyskinesia.
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The safety and efficacy of subthalamic nucleus (STN) deep brain stimulation (DBS) in patients who have had a previous unilateral pallidotomy is not clear. We identified 10 patients (9 male) at the Baylor College of Medicine Parkinson's Disease Center who underwent STN DBS after prior unilateral pallidotomy. Demographics, efficacy as determined by off Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) part III scores, and levodopa equivalent dosing were analyzed. ⋯ AE thought to be related to the STN DBS following pallidotomy included worse dysarthria (three) and worse balance (two). STN DBS patients with prior pallidotomy had less improvement in UPDRS off motor score compared to other STN DBS patients, despite relatively good outcomes immediately after their pallidotomy. This may be partially due to a selection bias, but it may also indicate that prior pallidotomy is a negative predictor of outcome of STN DBS and should be considered in patient selection.
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We report on 6 advanced Parkinson's disease (PD) patients who underwent bilateral subthalamic nucleus (STN) deep brain stimulation (DBS) surgery whose restless legs syndrome (RLS) improved postoperatively. Despite a mean 56% decrease in their levodopa equivalents postoperatively, their RLS scores dropped by a mean of 84% (100% in three). Our findings suggest that bilateral STN DBS surgery can improve RLS in patients with advanced PD.
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The neural mechanisms underlying unintended mirror movements (MMs) of one hand during unimanual movements of the other hand in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) are largely unexplored. Here we used surface electromyographic (EMG) analysis and focal transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to investigate the pathophysiological substrate of MMs in four PD patients. Surface EMG was recorded from both abductor pollicis brevis (APB) and first dorsal interosseous (FDI) muscles. ⋯ During either mirror or voluntary finger tapping, 5 Hz repetitive TMS (rTMS) of the contralateral M1 disrupted EMG activity in the target FDI, whereas the effects of rTMS of the ipsilateral M1 were by far slighter. During either mirror or voluntary APB contraction, paired-pulse TMS showed a reduction of short-interval intracortical inhibition in the contralateral M1. These findings provide converging evidence that, in PD, MMs do not depend on unmasking of ipsilateral projections but are explained by motor output along the crossed corticospinal projection from the mirror M1.