GAINESVILLE, Fla. — A University of Florida-led study has shown that deep brain stimulation (DBS) significantly improves symptoms and quality of life for Parkinson’s disease patients, with benefits lasting up to five years.
The study, which is the largest prospective long-term trial of its kind, involved nearly 200 patients across 23 movement disorder centers. It demonstrated that DBS not only alleviates motor symptoms but also reduces the need for medication.
“This is one of the very few randomized, prospective trials of deep brain stimulation with long-term follow-up,” said Adolfo Ramirez-Zamora, M.D., a neurology professor at the Norman Fixel Institute for Neurological Diseases at UF Health. “For the first time, we can clearly see that the benefits of DBS are sustained at five years.”
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The trial involved implanting electrodes in patients’ brains to deliver electrical pulses, which can be adjusted over time. Patients were divided into two groups, with one group receiving immediate stimulation and the other serving as a control with inactive devices for the first 12 weeks.
After this period, all participants received active stimulation and were monitored for five years. The study also tracked safety outcomes, identifying infection as the most common serious risk, though it remained rare. Ten patients died during the follow-up period, but none of the deaths were attributed to the DBS treatment.
Michael S. Okun, M.D., director of the Fixel Institute, emphasized the future potential of DBS, noting that the findings set the stage for more advanced technologies and broader access to the therapy.
The study’s findings are published in JAMA Neurology on September 15.
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