Factors predicting the instant effect of motor function after subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation in Parkinson's disease.
BACKGROUND
Subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation (STN-DBS) is an effective treatment for Parkinson's disease (PD), the predictive effect of levodopa responsiveness on surgical outcomes was confirmed by some studies, however there were different conclusions about that through long- and short-term follow-ups. We aimed to investigate the factors which influence the predictive value of levodopa responsiveness, and discover more predictive factors of surgical outcomes.


METHODS
Twenty-three PD patients underwent bilateral STN-DBS and completed our follow-up. Clinical evaluations were performed 1 week before and 3 months after surgery.


RESULTS
STN-DBS significantly improved motor function of PD patients after 3 months; preoperative levodopa responsiveness and disease subtype predicted the effect of DBS on motor function; gender, disease duration and duration of motor fluctuations modified the predictive effect of levodopa responsiveness on motor improvement; the duration of motor fluctuations and severity of preoperative motor symptoms modified the predictive effect of disease subtype on motor improvement.


CONCLUSIONS
The intensity of levodopa responsiveness served as a predictor of motor improvement more accurately in female patients, patients with shorter disease duration or shorter motor fluctuations; PD patients with dominant axial symptoms benefit less from STN-DBS compared to those with limb-predominant symptoms, especially in their later disease stage.
['Su|Xin-Ling|XL|', 'Luo|Xiao-Guang|XG|0000-0002-3633-6732', 'Lv|Hong|H|', 'Wang|Jun|J|', 'Ren|Yan|Y|', 'He|Zhi-Yi|ZY|']
Subthalamic nucleus Deep brain stimulation Levodopa responsiveness Predictive factors Parkinson’s disease