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Updated: May 31, 2026

Controlling Parkinson's Disease With Adaptive Deep Brain Stimulation
Published on: July 16, 2014
Body weight gain and deep brain stimulation
Isabelle Rieu1, Philippe Derost, Miguel Ulla
1CHU Clermont-Ferrand, Neurology Department, Clermont-Ferrand, F-63001, France. irieu@chu-clermontferrand.fr
Abstract:
Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is a neurosurgical technique that has now been available for some 25 years. It is used in the treatment of various motor disorders, e.g. Parkinson's disease (PD), essential tremor and dystonia, and neuropsychiatric illnesses, e.g. obsessive-compulsive disorder and Tourette syndrome. The surgical targets of DBS include the thalamic ventralis intermedius nucleus (Vim), the globus pallidus internus (GPi) and more recently the subthalamic nucleus (STN), currently considered as the reference target in the treatment of PD. In the last ten years, most studies in PD patients have described a rapid and marked weight gain in the months following DBS of the STN. This weight gain sometimes induces obesity and can have metabolic repercussions. The physiopathological mechanisms responsible for the weight gain are multifactorial (changes in energy metabolism and eating behaviour, reduction of motor complications, etc.). This review reports current knowledge concerning weight changes in patients treated by DBS with different surgical targets. It also describes the mechanisms responsible for weight gain and the health outcome for the patients.

