ArticleClinical parkinsonism & related disorders2026
Long term improvement in quality of life in Parkinson's disease after deep brain stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus: an observational cohort.
Article in Clinical parkinsonism & related disorders, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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Abstract
Background: Long-term quality of life (QoL) outcomes following subthalamic nucleus (STN) deep brain stimulation (DBS) in Parkinson's disease (PD) remain incompletely characterized beyond 10-15 years.Objective: To evaluate long term QoL and clinical outcomes in PD patients undergoing bilateral STN-DBS with follow up extending up to 25 years. Methods: Single center, prospective observational cohort study at a tertiary academic medical center. A total of 387 PD patients who underwent bilateral STN DBS were followed longitudinally with annual assessments for up to 25 years. Annual assessments included PDQ-39, Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS), Levodopa equivalent daily dose (LED), Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS), Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) and Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS). Results: Among 387 patients (baseline PDQ-39, 35.34 ± 14.79), QoL improved significantly at year 1 (24.38 ± 14.39; Conclusion: Bilateral STN DBS is associated with significant early improvements in QoL followed by long-term stabilization without deterioration below baseline for up to 25 years. These findings suggest that STN DBS provides durable symptomatic benefit and relative preservation of QoL compared with the expected progressive decline in PD. Long-term management should prioritize non-motor symptoms, particularly cognition and communication.
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