Deep brain electrical stimulation: what kind of Parkinson’s disease patients are suitable for DBS surgery

Parkinson’s disease is a neurodegenerative disease that commonly affects middle-aged and elderly people and is chronic in nature. Initially, it can be treated with oral medications, such as dopamine-based, dopamine-promoting and receptor agonist types of medications, and when the medications become progressively less effective and the side effects gradually increase, it can be treated with deep brain electrical stimulation surgery after the honeymoon period of medications. So what kind of Parkinson’s disease patients are suitable for DBS surgery? 1, Diagnosed with primary Parkinson’s disease. 2, History of the disease for more than 5 years. 3, long-term dopamine-type drugs work well, but recent efficacy decreases, the effect is not good after increasing the dose or drug side effects occur, such as symptom fluctuations, switch phenomenon, end-of-dose phenomenon, etc., which can no longer meet the needs of patients. 4, The patient has no contraindications to anesthesia and surgery, such as malignant tumors, leukemia or multi-organ failure, etc. 5.No serious cognitive impairment and mental disorder. 6.Patients actively cooperate and are willing to accept deep brain stimulator implantation. 7. The patient’s physical condition can withstand the surgical treatment. Deep brain stimulation (DBS), also known as brain pacemaker implantation, is a procedure in which electrodes implanted in the brain are used to deliver high-frequency electrical stimulation to the relevant nuclei that control movement. The electrical stimulation signal interferes with abnormal neural electrical activity and restores the movement control loop or disordered neurotransmitters to a relatively normal functional state, thereby reducing the symptoms of movement disorders and improving the quality of life of patients. DBS surgery is a minimally invasive neurosurgical procedure with small intraoperative invasion, low bleeding and fast postoperative recovery, while the brain pacemaker is a set of sophisticated microelectronic devices consisting of pulse generators, electrodes and extension leads, all of which are implanted in the body and do not affect normal life. Therefore, the safety of the procedure has gradually gained widespread attention and recognition. DBS has now been expanded to other indications such as epilepsy, dystonia and cluster pain; it has also recently been used to treat psychiatric disorders such as obsessive-compulsive disorder, Tourette’s syndrome and depression, etc. DBS has also recently been used in trials for other disorders that may become new indications in the future. In addition, due to its high treatment efficiency and reversible, modifiable and low complications, more than 100,000 people worldwide have been treated with DBS surgery.