Subthalamic deep brain stimulation for Parkinson’s disease reduces falls risk and psychotic symptoms – but not the development of dementia, a conference has heard.
Doctors at Innsbruck Medical University, Austria, have reported their findings to the conference of the European Academy of Neurology in Lisbon, Portugal.
The latest findings come from a study of 50 patients who underwent the treatment and were compared with another 50 patients who did not receive deep brain stimulation.
The researchers conclude that the treatment has positive effects on some of the long-term complications of the disease.
They report it had no effect on the long-term evolution of dementia. Nor did it seem to extend life or delay the point at which patients needed nursing home care.
Researcher Dr Philipp Mahlknecht said: “Deep brain stimulation was associated with a decreased risk for recurrent falls in our cohort of Parkinson’s disease patients under long-term subthalamic stimulation when compared with patients under conservative treatments.
“The onset of psychotic symptoms was also found to be delayed through this treatment.”
Abstract: TCLIN05 P. Mahlknecht et al: Has deep brain stimulation changed the natural history of Parkinson’s disease? A case control longitudinal study
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