Unilateral pedunculopontine stimulation improves falls in Parkinson's disease.
Postural instability and falls are a major source of disability in patients with advanced Parkinson's disease. These problems are currently not well addressed by either pharmacotherapy nor by subthalamic nucleus deep-brain stimulation surgery. The neuroanatomical substrates of posture and gait are poorly understood but a number of important observations suggest a major role for the pedunculopontine nucleus and adjacent areas in the brainstem. We conducted a double-blinded evaluation of unilateral pedunculopontine nucleus deep-brain stimulation in a pilot study in six advanced Parkinson's disease patients with significant gait and postural abnormalities. There was no significant difference in the double-blinded on versus off stimulation Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale motor scores after 3 or 12 months of continuous stimulation and no improvements in the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale part III scores compared to baseline. In contrast, patients reported a significant reduction in falls in the on and off medication states both at 3 and 12 months after pedunculopontine nucleus deep-brain stimulation as captured in the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale part II scores. Our results suggest that pedunculopontine nucleus deep-brain stimulation may be effective in preventing falls in patients with advanced Parkinson's disease but that further evaluation of this procedure is required.
Division of Neurosurgery, 4-447 Toronto Western Hospital, 399 Bathurst Street, Toronto, ON, M5T 2S8 Canada.
Elena
E
Moro
Clement
C
Hamani
Yu-Yan
YY
Poon
Thamar
T
Al-Khairallah
Jonathan O
JO
Dostrovsky
William D
WD
Hutchison
Andres M
AM
Lozano
D000058:Accidental Falls / Q000517:prevention & control*; D000368:Aged; D046690:Deep Brain Stimulation / Q000379:methods*; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D045042:Pedunculopontine Tegmental Nucleus / Q000502:physiology*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D004856:Postural Balance / Q000502:physiology