The Journal of neuropsychiatry and clinical neurosciences
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J Neuropsychiatry Clin Neurosci · Jan 2012
Clinical TrialAssociations between bilateral subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation (STN-DBS) and anxiety in Parkinson's disease patients: a controlled study.
The authors explored the associations between subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation (STN-DBS) and anxiety in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients. Recent research suggests that anxiety may be one of the earliest manifestations of PD; however, the lack of a dopamine-medication control group is a major limitation of these studies. Authors paired a group of 31 bilateral STN-DBS PD patients (STN-DBS group) with 31 dopamine-medicated PD patients (Medication-control group) and used various psychological assessment scales for group evaluations. ⋯ Anxiety scores remained stable before 3rd-month Stimulator Power-On, but got worse after that time. In the STN-DBS group, S-AI was positively related to motor symptoms and life quality preoperatively and 4 months postoperatively, but, in the Medication group, this correlation existed throughout the study. PD-related anxiety decreased in STN-DBS patients because of the improvement in motor function for a short time; however, as the voltages and pulse-widths grew higher with time, the PD-related anxiety became worse.