Relationship between electrode position of deep brain stimulation and motor symptoms of Parkinson’s disease

Abstract

Abstract Background To investigate the relationship between the position of bilateral STN-DBS location of active contacts and the clinical efficacy of STN-DBS on motor symptoms in Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients. Methods Retrospectively analyze the clinical data of 57 patients with PD who underwent bilateral STN-DBS from March 2018 to December 2018. Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale-Part III (UPDRS-III) score, levodopa equivalent day dose (LEDD), Parkinson’s Disease Quality of Life Scale (PDQ-39) before operation and within 6 months after operation, determine the location of activated contacts and volume of tissue activated (VTA) in the Montreal Neurological Institute (MNI) space, and analyze their correlation with the improvement rate of motor symptoms (UPDRS-III score improvement rate). Results After 6 months of follow up, the UPDRS-III scores of 57 patients (Med-off) were improved by 55.4 ± 18.9% (P 0.05). At 6 months after surgery, the difference between the Z-axis coordinate in the different improvement rate subgroups(50%) in the MNI space was statistically significant (left side: P = 0.030; right side: P = 0.024). In the MNI space, there was no statistically significant difference between the groups in the VTA of the electrode active contacts (all P > 0.05). Conclusion STN-DBS can improve the motor symptoms of PD patients and improve the quality of life. The closer the stimulation is to the STN dorsolateral sensorimotor area, the higher the DBS is to improve the motor symptoms of PD patients.

Keywords

• Parkinson’s disease
• Deep brain stimulation
• Subthalamic nucleus
• Motor symptom
• Active contacts
• Volume of tissue activated