Deep brain stimulation in Parkinson's disease: The basics.

Abstract

Parkinson's disease (PD) affects over 1 × 10(6) people in the United States with 50 000 Americans being diagnosed each year. As a neurodegenerative movement disorder, it affects patients' lives through its slow but relentless progression of both motor and non-motor symptoms. Initially, most PD patients receive good benefit from dopaminergic treatment, but over time the symptomatology changes. The goal of this presentation is to discuss the motor features of advanced PD. Treatment of advanced PD typically consists of a combination of pharmaceuticals, but in recent years deep brain stimulation has been increasingly used to complement medical therapy. DBS for PD is indicated in some patients while it may not be the best treatment option for others. Selection criteria, indications, and relative contraindications will be discussed. The procedure will be reviewed and an overview of recent outcomes of DBS studies in PD will be provided. Attention will also be given to potential side effects of this state of the art treatment. Throughout the presentation, video clips will highlight the phenomenology under discussion.