The Quantitative Measurement of Reversible Acute Depression after Subthalamic Deep Brain Stimulation in a Patient with Parkinson Disease

Background. Depression is the most commonly reported mood symptom affecting 2–8% of patients after deep brain stimulation (DBS). Usually, symptoms develop gradually; however there have been cases of reproducible events that the mood symptoms were elicited within seconds to minutes after stimulation and were immediately reversible upon cessation of the stimulus. In the current study, we applied a self-reported questionnaire to assess the patient's mood state. Objective. To objectively measure the reversible acute depression induced by DBS in a patient with Parkinson disease (PD). Methods. A statistically validated Spanish version of the Beck Depression Inventory Short Form (BDI-SF) was used. The questionnaire was administered three times. Results. The patient became acutely depressed within ninety seconds of monopolar stimulation on the right side. His symptoms resolved immediately after changing the setting to bipolar stimulation. The BDI-SF scores during stimulation off, on, and off again were 15, 19, and 6, respectively. Conclusions. The BDI-SF scores increased during stimulation and decreased after cessation. This is consistent with a reversible depressive state. The poststimulation BDI-SF score decreased to less than half of the baseline score. This may suggest that the depression was more severe than the patient was able to express during the stimulation.