Abstract
OBJECT: The effects of thalamic deep brain stimulation (DBS) on essential
tremor (ET) and Parkinson disease (PD) have been well documented,
but there is a paucity of long-term data. The aim of this study was
to evaluate the long-term safety and efficacy of DBS of the ventralis
intermedius nucleus (VIM) of the thalamus for PD and ET. METHODS:
Thirty-eight of 45 patients enrolled at five sites completed a 5-year
follow-up study. There were 26 patients with ET and 19 with PD undergoing
29 unilateral (18 ET/11 PD) and 16 bilateral (eight ET/eight PD)
procedures. Patients with ET were evaluated using the Tremor Rating
Scale, and patients with PD were evaluated using the Unified Parkinson's
Disease Rating Scale. The mean age of patients with ET was 70.2 years
and 66.3 years in patients with PD. Unilaterally implanted patients
with ET had a 75\% improvement of the targeted hand tremor; those
with bilateral implants had a 65\% improvement in the left hand and
86\% in the right compared with baseline. Parkinsonian patients with
unilateral implants had an 85\% improvement in the targeted hand
tremor and those with bilateral implants had a 100\% improvement
in the left hand and 90\% improvement in the right. Common DBS-related
adverse events in patients receiving unilateral implants were paresthesia
(45\%) and pain (41\%), and in patients receiving implants bilaterally
dysarthria (75\%) and balance difficulties (56\%) occurred. Device-related
surgical revisions other than IPG replacements occurred in 12 (27\%)
of the 45 patients. CONCLUSIONS: Thalamic stimulation is safe and
effective for the long-term management of essential and Parkinsonian
tremors. Bilateral stimulation can cause dysarthria and incoordination
and should be used cautiously.
- activities
- aged,neurologic
- brain
- classification,aged,cerebral,deep
- daily
- disease,parkinson
- disease:
- examination,parkinson
- living,activities
- living:
- nuclei,ventral
- nuclei:
- of
- outcome,united
- physiopathology
- physiopathology,essential
- physiopathology,parkinson
- states,ventral
- stimulation,dominance,essential
- studies,humans,male,middle
- studies,treatment
- thalamic
- therapy,female,follow-up
- therapy,prospective
- tremor,essential
- tremor:
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