How to reduce medication after DBS for Parkinson’s disease patients?

  Patients with Parkinson’s disease will get good improvement for motor symptoms after pacemaker surgery, so many patients stop their medications on their own, thinking that they can stop taking them. Because Parkinson’s disease patients need to rely on medications to improve their non-motor symptoms, the symptoms of the central axis (swallowing disorders, balance and breathing problems), it is generally not recommended to stop medications after surgery, but medications will be adjusted.  As the disease progresses, parameters need to be adjusted. However, the programmable device in the patient’s hand can only control the switch and adjust the voltage parameters, and other parameters should be adjusted by the surgeon at the surgical hospital. Post-operative follow-up is very important, and patients should communicate their progress to the doctor for program control.  The implantation of a pacemaker does not mean that you can stop taking medication. Usually, after the pacemaker is placed, the patient’s medication will be reduced by 50%, and the surgery can improve the movement disorder.  The general medication reduction is divided into the following two cases: i. The medication reduction is after 3 months. Theoretically patients can have their medications reduced to 50-60% after brain pacemaker surgery. However, this is not possible for all patients with Parkinson’s disease. For patients with significant improvement in motor symptoms after surgery and no respiratory distress. It is perfectly possible to reduce the medication in this way, and some patients can even go without medication. Because after the medication reduction, his symptoms can be controlled by adjusting the parameters. But if patients with symptoms such as dyspnea appear, a hasty medication reduction will aggravate the non-motor symptoms and cause an overall state change, which will further also affect the effect of the brain pacemaker. Therefore, it is necessary to take the medication at the original dose for 3 months before adjusting it after the start-up.  Second, medication reduction is started right after the start-up. This situation is for patients with anisocoria. Before starting the machine patients do not take the drug first debug the symptoms and test the effect. After that the patient is satisfied and then take on the drug, after the drug is taken, if the patient has the phenomenon of heterodyne there is a need to reduce the dose, some patients need to stop using Medopa, or change to other drugs.