Session Information
Date: Monday, June 20, 2016
Session Title: Surgical therapy: Parkinson's disease
Session Time: 12:30pm-2:00pm
Location: Exhibit Hall located in Hall B, Level 2
Objective: To observe if stimulation of deep brain tissue can improve expression of the mouth in Parkinson’s disease patients.
Background: Masked facies or hypomimia is the most common description of facial expression in Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients. Current pharmacologic medications as well as deep brain stimulation (DBS) have been shown to improve classic symptoms of PD as well as oromotor movements.
Methods: The effects of DBS on the mouth expression of PD patients were analyzed utilizing pictures of PD patients both pre- and post-DBS adjustment.
Results: 11 patients (8F, 3M, stage II-4, III-5, IV-2) in our clinic participated in this observational study. 6 patients with ‘mouth-opened’ expression noted improvement following DBS programming as seen on pre and post pictures. 5 patients with ‘lip-pursed’ expression noted improvement following DBS programming as seen on pre and post pictures 
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Conclusions: To our knowledge, this is the first t report analyzing the effects on mouth expression in PD patients following DBS implantation and programming. We observed that DBS programming not only improves the classic features of PD, but additionally improved unwanted mouth-opened and lip-pursed facial expressions.
To cite this abstract in AMA style:
M.V. Alvarez, P.M. Grogan. Can stimulation of deep brain tissue improve the expression of the mouth in Parkinson’s disease patients? [abstract]. Mov Disord. 2016; 31 (suppl 2). https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/can-stimulation-of-deep-brain-tissue-improve-the-expression-of-the-mouth-in-parkinsons-disease-patients/. Accessed June 14, 2025.« Back to 2016 International Congress
MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/can-stimulation-of-deep-brain-tissue-improve-the-expression-of-the-mouth-in-parkinsons-disease-patients/