No tissue damage by chronic deep brain stimulation in Parkinson's disease.
We report on the pathological findings in the brains of 8 Parkinson's disease patients treated with deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the thalamic ventral intermediate nucleus (6 cases) and subthalamic nucleus (2 cases). DBS was performed continuously for up to 70 months. All brains showed well-preserved neural parenchyma and only mild gliosis around the lead track compatible with reactive changes due to surgical placement of the electrode. We conclude that chronic DBS does not cause damage to adjacent brain tissue.
Haberler
C
C
Institute of Neurology, University of Vienna, Austria.
Alesch
F
F
Mazal
P R
PR
Pilz
P
P
Jellinger
K
K
Pinter
M M
MM
Hainfellner
J A
JA
Budka
H
H
D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology*; D004599:Electric Stimulation Therapy / Q000009:adverse effects*; D006801:Humans; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000473:pathology* / Q000628:therapy; D013997:Time Factors