Predictive Factors for Long-term Outcome of Subthalamic Nucleus Deep Brain Stimulation for Parkinson’s Disease

Despite the recognition of the usefulness of subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation (STN-DBS) for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease (PD), preoperative predictive factors for the long-term outcome of STN-DBS are not sufficiently established. We performed this study to determine such predictive factors. The subjects were 66 patients who were classified into two groups on the basis of their activities of daily living (ADL) evaluated five years after the STN-DBS surgery: 33 patients were assigned to the independent ADL group (group I) and the remaining 33 patients to the dependent ADL group (group D). Group I patients showed a Schwab and England (S&E) scale score of more than 70 during the off-period, indicating that these patients can maintain their independent ADL all the time. Group D patients showed a score of 70 or lower during the off-period, indicating that these patients cannot maintain their independent ADL for an entire day. We studied the differences in the preoperative state between these two groups. Statistically significant differences were noted in PD onset age, age at surgery, preoperative unified Parkinson’s disease rating scale (UPDRS) part I score, part II score, total subscore for axial symptoms in part III, mini-mental state examination (MMSE) score and S&E score. Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that the significant independent variables related to long-term independent ADL were the age at surgery, MMSE score and preoperative S&E scale score during the off-period. The PD onset age, age at surgery, preoperative high-level ADL, cognitive function, and axial symptoms are important predictive factors for the long-term outcome of STN-DBS.