Deep Brain Stimulation Remains Effective for Parkinson Disease After 15 Years

According to a study published in Neurology, deep brain stimulation (DBS) continues to be effective for treating symptoms of Parkinson disease (PD) 15 years after implantation. Over a 15-year period, people with PD treated with DBS had a 75% reduction from baseline in dyskinesia, 59% less "OFF" time, and 51% lower mean doses of medications for control of dopamine levels. 

“DBS benefits seem to last for several years but not enough data have been available to show that these effects are still present more than 15 years after surgery,” said study author Elena Moro, MD, PhD, of the Grenoble Alpes University in France and a Fellow of the American Academy of Neurology. “We wanted to know if people with PD continue to benefit from this treatment. It is exciting to report that our study found in the long run, DBS continues to be effective in people with PD.”
  
“Our study also found that despite the natural progression of PD and the worsening of some symptoms that become resistant to medications over the years, participants still maintained an overall improvement in quality of life,” said Moro. “Future studies should continue to examine the benefits of DBS over longer periods of time and in larger groups of people.”
  
For the study, researchers identified 51 people who had a DBS device implanted at a single university hospital. The average age for diagnosis of PD was 40 with average age 51 at device implantation. Study participants had the device an average of 17 years. Few adverse events were found after 15 years of having the stimulation and were mostly manageable.