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Background: The aim of this study was to assess psychiatric and social outcome 12 months after bilateral deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the globus pallidus pars interna (GPi) and subthalamic nucleus (STN) for advanced Parkinson's disease (PD)., Methods: We randomly assigned patients to receive GPi DBS (n = 65) or STN DBS (n = 63). Standardized psychiatric and social questionnaires were assessed at baseline and after 12 months., Results: No differences were found between GPi DBS and STN DBS on psychiatric evaluation. Within-group comparisons showed small but statistically significant changes on several measures in both groups. Descriptive statistics indicated slight changes in social functioning. Marital satisfaction of patients and partners remained relatively stable after GPi and STN DBS., Conclusions: We found neither differences in psychiatric and social outcome between GPi DBS and STN DBS nor any relevant within-group differences. The decision for GPi DBS or STN DBS cannot be based on expected psychiatric or social effects., (© 2015 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society.)

To determine whether the degree to which a patient with Parkinson's disease expects therapeutic benefit from subthalamic nucleus-deep brain stimulation (STN-DBS) influences the magnitude of his or her improved motor response, 10 patients with idiopathic Parkinson's and bilateral STN-DBS were tested after a 12-hour period off medication and stimulation. Four consecutive UPDRS III scores were performed in the following conditions: (a) stimulation OFF, patient aware; (b) stimulation OFF, patient blind; (c) stimulation ON, patient aware; and (d) stimulation ON, patient blind. Statistical significance (P = 0.0001) was observed when comparing main effect ON versus OFF (mean ON: 32.55; mean OFF: 49.15). When the stimulation was OFF, patients aware of this condition had higher UPDRS motor scores than when they were blinded (mean: 50.7 vs. 47.6). With the stimulation ON, UPDRS motor scores were lower when the patients were aware of the stimulation compared with when they were blinded (mean: 30.6 vs. 34.5). The interaction between these levels was significant (P = 0.049). This variation was important for bradykinesia and was not significant for tremor and rigidity. The authors conclude that the information about the condition of the stimulation enhanced the final clinical effect in opposite directions. The results presented support the role of expectation and placebo effects in STN-DBS in Parkinson's disease patients., ((c) 2006 Movement Disorder Society.)

We investigated the impact of subthalamic nucleus (STN) deep brain stimulation (DBS) on quality of life (QOL) in patients with advanced Parkinson's disease, as self-assessed before and after surgery by completing the Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire (PDQ39). In addition to this prospective evaluation, we asked patients postoperatively to evaluate their preoperative QOL. In the prospective assessment, results showed that patients perceived a general improvement of QOL after the STN DBS. However, when evaluated retrospectively, they tended to overestimate their preoperative functioning, therefore obscuring the improvement found prospectively. This observation highlights the impact of the method used on obtained results when assessing the effects of STN DBS., ((c) 2006 Movement Disorder Society.)