Category: Parkinson's Disease: Surgical Therapy
Objective: Investigate the cognitive safety of Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) in PD patients with baseline pre-operative diagnosis of Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI)
Background: DBS is a highly effective, evidence-based procedure for moderate and advanced PD motor symptom treatment. Inclusion of patients with baseline MCI remains controversial due to concerns of worsened neurocognitive outcome. This study examines longitudinal cognitive trajectories pre and post DBS to address this gap and validate DBS safety for MCI cohorts.
Method: Retrospective review of 49 PD patients (32 nonMCI; 17 MCI) involved comprehensive neuropsychological evaluations pre- and post-DBS. Linear Mixed Models characterized trajectories across global cognition, processing speed, executive, and memory domains, controlling for age and education.
Results: Stability was observed in global cognition (DRS-2), verbal memory (WMS-IV), and abstract reasoning (WAIS-IV). Significant main effects of time revealed generalized declines in aspects of executive functioning and two measures of verbal fluency (p<.005). While the MCI cohort exhibited lower overall processing performance (p<.05), a significant Group X Time interaction for Stroop Word Reading (p=.008) demonstrated stability in the MCI group compared to significant declines in the nonMCI group.
Conclusion: Results support the cognitive safety of DBS for baseline MCI patients. The findings across cognitive domains suggest MCI does not predispose patients to disproportionate post-surgical morbidity. Observed declines reflect natural disease progression versus known subtle surgical effects that were no greater in the MCI group. These findings challenge the use of MCI as a strict contraindication and support broader access to life-changing motor- symptom interventions. Future analysis will include a larger patient cohort. A version of
To cite this abstract in AMA style:
JT. Martin, J. Sweet, A. Katewa, C. Bailey, C. Kilbane. Cognitive Safety and Stability in DBS for Parkinson’s Disease: Evidence for the Inclusion of Patients with Baseline Mild Cognitive Impairment. [abstract]. Mov Disord. 2026; 41 (suppl 1). https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/cognitive-safety-and-stability-in-dbs-for-parkinsons-disease-evidence-for-the-inclusion-of-patients-with-baseline-mild-cognitive-impairment/. Accessed October 1, 2026.« Back to 2026 International Congress
MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/cognitive-safety-and-stability-in-dbs-for-parkinsons-disease-evidence-for-the-inclusion-of-patients-with-baseline-mild-cognitive-impairment/