UF-led study shows deep brain stimulation benefits for Parkinson’s patients
A national study of Parkinson’s disease patients has found that deep brain stimulation — a medical technique long championed at University of Florida Health — offers improved symptoms and quality of life, with benefits that last.
Parkinson’s is a movement disorder of the nervous system that worsens over time. It often begins with barely noticeable symptoms, such as a subtle tremor, that later can render patients unable to walk or speak. It affects about 1 million people in the United States.
The trial, conducted across 23 movement disorder centers, was the largest prospective long-term look at deep brain stimulation, or DBS, for Parkinson’s disease. During the procedure, surgeons implant electrodes in a patient’s brain to deliver electrical pulses that can be fine-tuned over time.
Nearly 200 patients received DBS implants and were placed in a group that received immediate stimulation or a control group whose devices remained inactive for the first 12 weeks. After this phase, all participants received active stimulation and were followed for five years. Ultimately, 137 patients completed the study.
The study’s results were reported Sept. 15 in the journal JAMA Neurology.