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Updated: Jun 14, 2025

A Novel Approach to Assess Motor Outcome of Deep Brain Stimulation Effects in the Hemiparkinsonian Rat: Staircase and Cylinder Test
Published on: May 31, 2016
Efficacy of subthalamic deep brain stimulation programming strategies for gait disorders in Parkinson's disease: a
Nathália C B Tortato1, Gustavo Ribas2, Leonardo A Frizon3
1Movement Disorders Unit, Neurology Service, Internal Medicine Department, Hospital de Clínicas, Federal University of Parana, Rua General Carneiro, 181, Curitiba, 80060-900, PR, Brazil. ncabral.neuro@gmail.com.
Abstract:
Patients with advanced Parkinson's disease often suffer from severe gait and balance problems, impacting quality of live and persisting despite optimization of standard therapies. The aim of this review was to systematically review the efficacy of STN-DBS programming techniques in alleviating gait disturbances in patients with advanced PD. Searches were conducted in PubMed, Embase, and Lilacs databases, covering studies published until May 2024. The review identified 36 articles that explored five distinct STN-DBS techniques aimed at addressing gait and postural instability in Parkinson's patients: low-frequency stimulation, ventral STN stimulation for simultaneous substantia nigra activation, interleaving, asymmetric stimulation and a short pulse width study. Among these, 21 articles were included in the meta-analysis, which revealed significant heterogeneity among studies. Notably, low-frequency STN-DBS demonstrated positive outcomes in total UPDRS-III score and FOG-Q, especially when combined with dopaminergic therapy. The most favorable results were found for low-frequency STN stimulation. The descriptive analysis suggests that unconventional stimulation approaches may be viable for gait problems in patients who do not respond to standard therapies.
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