title: Deep brain stimulation for gait and postural symptoms in Parkinson's disease.
abstract: In patients with Parkinson's disease, gait and balance difficulties have emerged as some of the main therapeutic concerns. During earlier stages of the disease, the dopamine-responsive aspects of gait disorder can be treated initially with dopaminergic drugs or deep brain stimulation. However, certain temporal aspects of parkinsonian gait disorder remain therapeutically resistant in both the short term and the long term. In this review, we summarize the effects of deep brain stimulation on gait and postural symptoms in the five currently available targets (subthalamic nucleus, globus pallidus, ventralis intermedius thalamic nucleus, pedunculopontine nucleus, and substantia nigra) and describe programming strategies for patients who are mainly disabled by gait problems.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University Hospital Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Monika
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pötter-Nerger
authors.forename: Jens
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Volkmann
mesh_terms: D046690:Deep Brain Stimulation / Q000379:methods*; D020233:Gait Disorders, Neurologic / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000150:complications; D004856:Postural Balance / Q000502:physiology*; D012678:Sensation Disorders / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy*
keywords: Parkinson's disease; deep brain stimulation; gait disorder; postural symptoms