Deep brain stimulation for Parkinson's disease

Chronic high-frequency stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus has evolved into a routine treatment for motor fluctuations, dyskinesia and medically refractory tremor in Parkinson's disease. The most important predictors for surgical benefit include excellent responsiveness of akinetic-rigid and axial motor symptoms to levodopa, a normal cognitive status and younger age. Current evidence suggests that for patients fulfilling these selection criteria deep brain stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus is superior to standard oral drug therapy in maintaining a good level of health-related quality of life.