Objective: To clarify longitudinal changes in QOL in PD after STN-DBS.

Background: While it is well known that motor complications are dramatically improved after subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation (STN-DBS) in Parkinson’s disease (PD), longitudinal changes in quality of life (QOL) remain to be elucidated.

Method: We retrospectively examined longitudinal changes in the score of the Parkinson’s Disease Questionnaire (PDQ)-39 summary index (SI) and its subcategories in PD patients who underwent STN-DBS and completed pre- and post-operative evaluations (3 months: n=37, 1 year: n=28, 3 years: n=19, 5 years: n=10).

Results: The score of PDQ-39 SI significantly improved 3 months after STN-DBS (33.2±0.16 → 26.8±0.13, p=0.021, Cohen’s d=0.39). The activities of daily living (ADL) subcategory significantly improved at 3 months (46.8±0.22 → 30.3±0.20, p<0.01, Cohen’s d=0.65) and 1 year (46.8±0.22 → 24.8±0.19, p<0.01, Cohen’s d=0.79) compared with baseline. Conversely, the score of the communication subcategory significantly deteriorated at 1 year (16.3±0.13 → 26.1±0.21, p=0.03, Cohen’s d=-0.42) and 3 years (16.3±0.13 → 31.1±0.22, p=0.02, Cohen’s d=-0.54) after STN-DBS.

Conclusion: The deterioration of communication ability after STN-DBS might affect QOL in PD patients.

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/longitudinal-changes-in-quality-of-life-after-subthalamic-nucleus-deep-brain-stimulation-in-parkinsons-disease/