THURSDAY, June 26 (HealthDay News) -- Deep brain stimulation provides lasting benefits in patients with DYT1 dystonia, according to research presented at the Movement Disorder Society's 12th International Congress of Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders, held June 22 to 26 in Chicago.
Laura Cif, M.D., of CHRU Montpellier in Montpellier, France, and colleagues analyzed data from 26 patients with genetically confirmed DYT1-positive dystonia who underwent internal globus pallidus lead implantation. According to the authors, deep brain stimulation of this region is an effective treatment for the disorder, though its long-term efficacy is relatively unexplored.
The patients showed significant decreases in motor and disability subscores on the Burke-Fahn-Marsden's Dystonia Rating Scale at one year after the surgery. The scores at one-year follow-up weren't significantly different from the scores at three, five and six years, the investigators found. At surgery, patients were given either bilateral single-lead or double-lead implantation; at one year, they showed no significant differences, but at five years they had a significant difference between groups for motor and disability scores.
"These results demonstrate a persistent efficacy of deep brain stimulation in DYT1 dystonia up to 10 years. Nevertheless, an extent of the disease symptoms occurs with long-term follow-up, independently on the age, requiring in a subpopulation of patients the implantation of an additional pair of leads," the authors conclude.
Abstract #484
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