title: Statistical determination of the optimal subthalamic nucleus stimulation site in patients with Parkinson disease.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The subthalamic nucleus (STN) is currently recognized as the preferred target for deep brain stimulation (DBS) in patients with Parkinson disease (PD). If there is agreement in the literature that DBS improves motor symptoms significantly, the situation is less clear with respect to the side effects of this procedure. The goal of this study was to correlate the coordinate values of active electrode contacts with the amplitude of residual clinical symptoms and side effects using a mathematical approach.
  
  
  METHODS
  In this study the investigators examined a cohort of 41 patients with PD who received clinical benefits from DBS after stimulating electrodes had been implanted bilaterally into the STN. The combined scores of residual clinical symptoms plus side effects, including speech disturbance, postural instability, and weight gain, were fitted by using either inverted ellipsoidal exponefitials or smooth splines. These analyses showed evidence of lower combined scores for stimulating contacts at an x coordinate approximately 12.0 to 12.3 mm lateral to the anterior commissure-posterior commissure (AC-PC) line and at a z coordinate approximately 3.1 to 3.3 mm under the AC-PC line. There was insufficient evidence for a preferred y coordinate location.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The authors propose a "best" therapeutic ellipse area that is centered at an x, z location of 12.5 mm, -3.3 mm and characterized by an extension of 1.85 mm in the x direction and 2.22 mm in the z direction. Therapeutic electrode contacts located within this area are well correlated with the lowest occurrence of residual symptoms and the lowest occurrence of side effects independent of STN anatomical considerations. The lack of a significant result in the y direction remains to be explored further.
authors.affiliation: Service de Neurophysiologie Clinique, Hôpital Pellegrin, Université de Bordeaux, France.
authors.forename: Dominique
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Guehl
authors.forename: Roderick
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Edwards
authors.forename: Emmanuel
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Cuny
authors.forename: Pierre
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Burbaud
authors.forename: Alain
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rougier
authors.forename: Julien
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Modolo
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Beuter
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000465:Algorithms; D015331:Cohort Studies; D046690:Deep Brain Stimulation / Q000009:adverse effects; D004567:Electrodes, Implanted; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015233:Models, Statistical; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000628:therapy*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D020531:Subthalamic Nucleus; D016896:Treatment Outcome