Session Information
Date: Monday, June 5, 2017
Session Title: Surgical Therapy: Parkinson’s Disease
Session Time: 1:45pm-3:15pm
Location: Exhibit Hall C
Objective: To evaluate tear tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) levels in samples of two Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients treated with subthalamic nucleus (STN) deep brain stimulation (DBS).
Background: Microglial activation and neuroinflammation play a major role in progressive degeneration of dopaminergic neurons leading to PD pathogenesis. Our previous study showed that tear TNF-α levels of PD patients, were statistically greater than the control group.
Methods: We measured TNF-α levels using a multiplexed immunobead-based assay in the tears of two PD patients treated with bilateral STN DBS. We also measured the blink rate (number/min) and conducted Schirmer test, which assesses tear production and is used in the diagnosis of dry eye. We compared the results of these tests with those acquired from our previous study in patients with PD who were not treated with STN DBS and the control group.
Results: Tear TNF-α levels of Case 1 and Case 2 were 151 and 162.2 pg/mL, respectively. Both values were greater than the mean value of the control group but lower than the mean value of the non-stimulated PD patient group (196.9 ± 121.3 pg/mL vs. 110.7 ± 87.2 pg/mL). Similarly, the blink rates in both patients were lower than those in the control group and greater than those in the non-stimulated PD patient group. The Schirmer test results were similar to those in the control group.
Conclusions: The results from our previous study showed that the high tear TNF-α levels in patients with PD supported the inflammatory hypothesis of the disease pathogenesis. In the present study, tear TNF-α levels of the two PD patients treated with STN DBS were lower than those in PD patients who were not treated with STN DBS but higher than those in the control group. Our results indicate that high tear TNF-α levels in patients with PD may be a marker of inflammatory mechanisms in the disease pathogenesis and reflect the positive effects of STN DBS on these mechanisms.
References: Çomoğlu SS, Güven H, Acar M, Öztürk G, Koçer B (2013) Tear levels of tumor necrosis factor-alpha in patients with Parkinson’s disease. Neurosci Lett 553:63-67
To cite this abstract in AMA style:
B. Kocer, S. Comoglu, H. Guven, M. Acar, G. Ozturk. Tear tumor necrosis factor-alpha levels in patients with Parkinson’s disease: The effect of deep brain stimulation [abstract]. Mov Disord. 2017; 32 (suppl 2). https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/tear-tumor-necrosis-factor-alpha-levels-in-patients-with-parkinsons-disease-the-effect-of-deep-brain-stimulation/. Accessed June 14, 2025.« Back to 2017 International Congress
MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/tear-tumor-necrosis-factor-alpha-levels-in-patients-with-parkinsons-disease-the-effect-of-deep-brain-stimulation/