For mobility impaired people with Parkinson's disease (PD), driving a car is important to maintain independency. But driving ability is getting worse with disease progression. Meanwhile surgical treatment with deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the subthalamic nucleus is done routinely in advanced PD, but it is unknown how DBS might affect driving. In a driving simulator setting, we found PD patients undergone DBS surgery to drive safer than even less clinically affected PD patients treated with medication alone. Furthermore, patients with DBS surgery drove better under stimulation than under medication. In conclusion, DBS of the subthalamic nucleus appears to be beneficial for driving in PD patients, potentially due to non-motor effects on controlling the vehicle in the simulator setting. Nevertheless, results of this first pilot study on driving in PD patients with DBS should not encourage patients or physicians to consider DBS only to improve or regain driving competence.
Keywords: Parkinson’s disease; car; deep brain stimulation; driving simulator; subthalamic nucleus.