Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41260987›Full record

Trial reportNeurotherapeutics : the journal of the American Society for Experimental NeuroTherapeutics2026

Deep brain stimulation of the medial geniculate body for refractory tinnitus: A feasibility study.

Shabnam Babakry, Jana V P Devos, Catharine A Hellingman, Linda Ackermans, Jasper V Smit, Michelle Moerel, Carsten Leue, Annelien A Duits, Yasin Temel, Marcus L F Janssen and 1 more

Abstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in Neurotherapeutics : the journal of the American Society for Experimental NeuroTherapeutics, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors.

Shabnam BabakryDepartment of Neurosurgery, Maastricht University Medical Centre, Maastricht, the Netherlands; Mental Health and Neuroscience Research Institute (MHeNS), Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands.
Jana V P DevosMental Health and Neuroscience Research Institute (MHeNS), Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands; Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, Maastricht University Medical Centre, Maastricht, the Netherlands; Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, Maastricht University Medical Centre, Maastricht, the Netherlands.
Catharine A HellingmanDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, Maastricht University Medical Centre, Maastricht, the Netherlands.
Linda AckermansDepartment of Neurosurgery, Maastricht University Medical Centre, Maastricht, the Netherlands; Mental Health and Neuroscience Research Institute (MHeNS), Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands.
Jasper V SmitDepartment of Ear, Nose, and Throat/Head and Neck Surgery, Zuyderland Medical Centre, Heerlen, the Netherlands.
Michelle MoerelDepartment of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands; Maastricht Centre for Systems Biology, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands.
Carsten LeueMental Health and Neuroscience Research Institute (MHeNS), Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands; Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, Maastricht University Medical Centre, Maastricht, the Netherlands.
Annelien A DuitsMental Health and Neuroscience Research Institute (MHeNS), Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands; Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, Maastricht University Medical Centre, Maastricht, the Netherlands; Department of Medical Psychology, Maastricht University Medical Centre, Maastricht and Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
Yasin TemelDepartment of Neurosurgery, Maastricht University Medical Centre, Maastricht, the Netherlands; Mental Health and Neuroscience Research Institute (MHeNS), Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands.
Marcus L F JanssenMental Health and Neuroscience Research Institute (MHeNS), Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands; Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, Maastricht University Medical Centre, Maastricht, the Netherlands. Electronic address: m.janssen@maastrichtuniversity.nl.
DBS Tinnitus Study Group

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Tinnitus disorder can have a significant negative impact on quality of life, especially when refractory to standard care. Deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the medial geniculate body (MGB) attenuates pathological neuronal activity in the central auditory pathway and is a potential treatment for severe tinnitus. The aim of this pilot study was to assess the safety and feasibility of bilateral MGB DBS in patients with refractory tinnitus disorder. This randomised double-blind 2 ​× ​2 cross-over study was conducted at Maastricht University Medical Centre, Maastricht, the Netherlands. The included patients had treatment refractory, severe, and chronic tinnitus without an anatomical substrate. Patients with bilateral MGB DBS were randomised to an ON-OFF or OFF-ON stimulation order for two cross-over phases. Primary outcomes consisted of safety and feasibility. Secondary outcomes on tinnitus severity, psychiatric and cognitive functioning and quality of life were assessed at screening, after both cross-over phases and at one-year follow-up. Four patients were included. No irreversible stimulation-induced side effects were observed. Surgical-related side effects were transient and resolved within two weeks. All patients experienced DBS as an acceptable treatment. Three of four patients showed improvement of tinnitus complaints based on the Tinnitus Functional Index. In the non-responder, electrodes had the largest distance from the centre of the MGB. To conclude, this study shows that bilateral MGB DBS is safe and feasible for patients with refractory tinnitus. Findings suggest the potential for clinically meaningful reduction in tinnitus burden through DBS. Effectiveness needs to be further evaluated in a follow-up study.

Indexed as

Deep Brain StimulationGeniculate BodiesTinnitusAdultAgedCross-Over StudiesDouble-Blind MethodFeasibility StudiesFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedPilot ProjectsQuality of LifeTreatment OutcomeDeep brain stimulationMedial geniculate bodyNeurosurgeryPilot studyTinnitus

Identifiers

PMID41260987
PMCPMC12976501

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.