Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42647110›Full record

ReviewJournal of Parkinson's disease2026

Low vs high frequency deep brain stimulation for Parkinson's disease-associated motor symptoms: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized control trials.

Bilal Salman, Lea Aridi, Vivian Faour, Wissam Abou Ali, Bilal Al Halabi, Rima Haidar, Jihane Soueid, Feten Fekih-Romdhane, Souheil Hallit, Sami Azar and 1 more

Abstract readReview
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in Journal of Parkinson's disease, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing 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

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

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.

Bilal SalmanDepartment of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Medical Sciences, University of Balamand, Al-Koura, Tripoli P.O. Box 100, Lebanon.
Lea AridiDepartment of Biology, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, University of Balamand, Al-Koura, Tripoli P.O. Box 100, Lebanon.
Vivian FaourDepartment of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Medical Sciences, University of Balamand, Al-Koura, Tripoli P.O. Box 100, Lebanon.
Wissam Abou AliDepartment of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Medical Sciences, University of Balamand, Al-Koura, Tripoli P.O. Box 100, Lebanon.
Bilal Al HalabiDepartment of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Medical Sciences, University of Balamand, Al-Koura, Tripoli P.O. Box 100, Lebanon.
Rima HaidarDepartment of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Medical Sciences, University of Balamand, Al-Koura, Tripoli P.O. Box 100, Lebanon.
Jihane SoueidDepartment of Anatomy, Cell biology and Physiological sciences, Faculty of Medicine, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon.
Feten Fekih-RomdhaneDepartment of Psychiatry "Ibn Omrane", The Tunisian Center of Early Intervention in Psychosis, Razi hospital, Manouba, 2010, Tunisia.
Souheil HallitSchool of Medicine and Medical Sciences, Holy Spirit University of Kaslik, P.O. Box 446, Jounieh, Lebanon.
Sami AzarDepartment of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Medical Sciences, University of Balamand, Al-Koura, Tripoli P.O. Box 100, Lebanon.
Frederic HarbDepartment of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Medical Sciences, University of Balamand, Al-Koura, Tripoli P.O. Box 100, Lebanon.ORCID 0000-0001-5882-1619

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

PurposeDeep brain stimulation (DBS) is an established treatment for motor symptoms in Parkinson's Disease (PD), but the optimal stimulation frequency remains uncertain. Previous studies have suggested that low and high frequency DBS may produce different clinical effects. This study aimed to compare the effects of low versus high frequency DBS on motor outcomes in PD.MethodsA systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials was conducted. PubMed, Ovid, CINAHL, Clinicaltrials.gov and the Cochrane Library were searched from 2010 to November 26, 2025. Studies comparing low and high frequency DBS in patients with PD were included. Motor outcomes were pooled using a random-effects model, and subgroup analyses were performed based on age and disease duration.ResultsA total of 15 randomized controlled trials involving 416 participants were included. Overall, no significant difference in motor outcomes was observed between low and high frequency DBS. Subgroup analysis based on age showed no significant effect modification. However, subgroup analysis suggested greater improvement with high frequency DBS in patients with shorter disease duration, whereas no significant difference was observed in those with longer disease duration. Sensitivity analyses demonstrated that these findings were robust. Additionally, tremor improvement favored the use of HFDBS.ConclusionHigh and low frequency DBS appear to provide comparable overall motor benefit in PD. Stimulation frequency may have differential effects depending on disease duration, although these findings should be interpreted cautiously. Further prospective trials are needed to determine optimal programming strategies across disease stages.RegistrationThis study was registered on PROSPERO (CRD420251238009).

Indexed as

deep brain stimulationmeta-analysisParkinson's diseaserandomized controlled trialsstimulation frequencyUPDRS-III

Identifiers

PMID42647110
PMCPMC13518612

What OpenQuestion holds

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Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

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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.