Analysis of the effects of subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation on somatosensation in Parkinson's disease patients

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Date

2020

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Springer-verlag Italia Srl

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Abstract

Objective Despite the subthalamic nucleus (STN) deep brain stimulation (DBS) is a treatment commonly used to ameliorate the motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease (PD), its effects on somatosensation is unclear. The purpose of this study was to investigate the potential effects of DBS on temperature, proprioceptive, tactile, exteroceptive, pain and cortical sensations, and odor identification in PD patients. Methods The study included 14 patients (with a mean age of 59.78 +/- 11.03 years; range, 44-70 years) with idiopathic PD who underwent DBS surgery for movement disorders caused by PD at the same Neurosurgery Department. All patients were tested while DBS was turned on (DBS-ON) and off (DBS-OFF). To clearly observe the effect of removing stimulation off, DBS devices were turned off by experimental clinical personnel for a minimum duration of 30 min prior to examination. Temperature, proprioceptive, tactile, exteroceptive, pain and cortical sensations, and odor identification were examined. Results We found that two-point discrimination was significantly lower during DBS-ON than DBS-OFF (p = 0.031). Tactile sensation and kinesthesia deviation degree were lower during DBS-ON than DBS-OFF, but were non-significant (p > 0.05). The number of correct answers on an assessment of graphesthesia was higher during DBS-ON, but was non-significant as well (p > 0.05). Odor identification was better during DBS-OFF. Conclusions DBS may have an effective role to improve somatosensation and DBS-related benefits may not be explained by improvements in motor function alone, but rather by enhanced somatosensory processing. Further studies with larger study groups are needed.

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DOGRU HUZMELI, Esra/0000-0002-7025-8192

Keywords

Deep brain stimulation, Subthalamic nucleus, Two-point discrimination, Non-motor symptom scale, Odor identification, Kinesthesia

Turkish CoHE Thesis Center URL

Citation

5

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Q2

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Q2

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Volume

41

Issue

4

Start Page

925

End Page

931