Session Information
Date: Monday, June 20, 2016
Session Title: Surgical Therapy
Session Time: 12:30pm-2:00pm
Objective: To develop a questionnaire that measures impairments related to deep brain stimulation (DBS).
Background: DBS has considerable influence on motor and non-motor symptoms in Parkinson’s disease (PD). While improvements in motor functioning can be easily assessed with general quality of life questionnaires, the measurement of specific DBS non-motor changes often remains insufficient.
Methods: The developmental process of the DBS Impairment Scale (DBS-IS) consisted of four major steps. In the first step, 60 semi-structured interviews three months and one year after DBS-surgery were performed to create 76 items that relate to motor and non-motor functioning in PD patients with DBS. In the second step pilot-testing lead to a rewording of the questions for better understanding. In the third step, a first multicentre survey was performed and 215 patients completed the questionnaire. Thereafter, the items were reduced applying exploratory factor analysis.
Results: The resulting six factors comprised 22 items. These factors were 1. postural instability and gait difficulties (5 items), 2. cognitive impairment (5 items), 3. speaking problems (3 items), 4. apathy (3 items), 5. impulsivity (3 items), and 6. difficulties related to the DBS device (3 items). In the final step, a second multicentre survey was conducted and 391 patients completed the scale. Concerning reliability, all subscales showed high internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha 0.71-0.90). Finally, construct validity was determined examining the association between the DBS-IS subscales and standard questionnaires e.g. the Parkinson’s disease questionnaire-39 and neuropsychiatric instruments. Construct validity proved high (r>.60, p<.001) with large effect sizes.
Conclusions: With this new outcome parameter, DBS-specific problems can be adequately measured, comparisons between patients are possible, therapy can be adjusted and potential therapeutic outcomes predicted.
The abstract was previously presented at the yearly congress of the German Neurological Society in Duesseldorf in 2015.
To cite this abstract in AMA style:
F. Maier, C.J. Lewis, A.A. Kühn, H. Krug, J. Volkmann, A.D. Kirsch, L. Wojtecki, A. Schnitzler, G. Deuschl, J.K. Krauss, C. Woopen, L. Timmermann. A new tool to measure the impact of deep brain stimulation on Parkinson’s disease patients: Development and validation of the deep brain stimulation impairment scale (DBS-IS) [abstract]. Mov Disord. 2016; 31 (suppl 2). https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/a-new-tool-to-measure-the-impact-of-deep-brain-stimulation-on-parkinsons-disease-patients-development-and-validation-of-the-deep-brain-stimulation-impairment-scale-dbs-is/. Accessed July 17, 2025.« Back to 2016 International Congress
MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/a-new-tool-to-measure-the-impact-of-deep-brain-stimulation-on-parkinsons-disease-patients-development-and-validation-of-the-deep-brain-stimulation-impairment-scale-dbs-is/