Subthalamic nucleus stimulation and gait in Parkinson's Disease: a not always fruitful relationship

Giovanni Cossu; Massimiliano Pau

doi:10.1016/j.gaitpost.2016.11.039

Subthalamic nucleus stimulation and gait in Parkinson's Disease: a not always fruitful relationship

Gait Posture. 2017 Feb:52:205-210. doi: 10.1016/j.gaitpost.2016.11.039. Epub 2016 Nov 27.

Authors

Giovanni Cossu¹, Massimiliano Pau²

Affiliations

¹ "G. Brotzu" General Hospital, Department of Neurology, Cagliari, Italy.
² Department of Mechanical, Chemical and Materials Engineering, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy. Electronic address: massimiliano.pau@dimcm.unica.it.

PMID: 27915226
DOI: 10.1016/j.gaitpost.2016.11.039

Abstract

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the subthalamic nucleus (STN) provides efficient treatment for the alleviation of motor signs in patients with advanced Parkinson's disease (PD), but its specific effects on gait is sometimes less successful as it may even lead to an aggravation of freezing of gait. To better understand when axial symptoms can be expected to improve and when they may worsen or be resistant to STN-DBS, we propose here a narrative review that considers the recent literature evidences based on instrumental gait analysis data. Our aim is to report about the efficacy of STN-DBS on PD gait, analyzing the clinical and procedural factors involved, and discussing the strategies for optimizing such effectiveness in patients with advanced PD.

Keywords: Deep brain stimulation (DBS); Gait; Kinematics; Parkinson’s Disease (PD); Subthalamic nucleus (STN).

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Deep Brain Stimulation*
Gait*
Humans
Parkinson Disease / physiopathology
Parkinson Disease / therapy*
Subthalamic Nucleus