Effect of Age and Disease Duration on the Levodopa Response in Patients with Advanced Parkinson’s Disease for Deep Brain Stimulation of the Subthalamic Nucleus

BACKGROUND: Deep brain stimulation (DBS) has become a preferred option for the treatment of motor symptoms in patients with advanced Parkinson’s disease (PD). A good levodopa response (LR) is considered the most important criterion in determining the suitability of a patient for DBS. However, the effect of age and disease duration (DD) on the LR is still a subject of discussion. OBJECTIVE: Here, we investigated the effect of age and DD on the preoperative LR in PD patients to be selected for DBS. METHODS: From August 2011 to May 2015, 54 consecutive patients (29 men and 25 women) with advanced PD were evaluated for DBS of the STN and included in this retrospective study. RESULTS: Thirty-seven patients were found suitable for DBS of the STN and 29 of them underwent bilateral surgery. We found no significant correlation between DD and the LR. However, there was a significant negative correlation between the patients’ age and the LR. CONCLUSION: The results indicate that the patients’ age, rather than DD, has a negative effect on the LR. The study, therefore, indicates that PD patients with an advanced age and with a poor LR are not good candidates for DBS of the STN.