Effect of deep brain stimulation on pain in Parkinson disease

Pain is a well-recognized feature of Parkinson disease (PD), and for some patients it is the most disabling symptom. Patients with PD may experience various types of pain, and the treatment of their pain depends on its presumed cause. However, in many patients, both pain that appears to be unrelated to PD and PD-related pain can be alleviated by medical and surgical interventions that target the motor symptoms of PD. In this article we review reports on the improvement of pain in PD by surgical interventions such as subthalamic deep brain stimulation (STN DBS), and discuss the possible mechanisms by which STN DBS improves pain in PD.