Unilateral pallidal stimulation for Parkinson's disease: Neurobehavioral functioning before and 3 months after electrode implantation
- 1 October 1997
- journal article
- Published by Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health) in Neurology
- Vol. 49 (4), 1078-1083
- https://doi.org/10.1212/wnl.49.4.1078
Abstract
Unilateral pallidotomy is thought to have a low risk for cognitive morbidity. Nonetheless, recent research suggests that some patients experience declines in memory and language and that pallidal stimulation might be a safer treatment for Parkinson's disease (PD). We investigated the neurobehavioral effects of unilateral pallidal stimulation. Nine consecutive PD patients undergoing unilateral deep brain-stimulating electrode implantation in the globus pallidus interna were evaluated with a neuropsychological test battery approximately 1 month before and 3 months after surgery. Patients reported significantly fewer symptoms of anxiety and greater vigor after surgery. There was a trend toward fewer depressive symptoms. Semantic verbal fluency and visuoconstructional test scores declined significantly after surgery. However, among five patients showing declines in semantic verbal fluency, only one patient's score declined by more than 2 SD. No patient showed significant decline or improvement in the overall level of cognitive functioning. This study supports the relative safety, in terms of cognitive function, of unilateral pallidal stimulation in PD.Keywords
This publication has 16 references indexed in Scilit:
- Pallidal stimulation: an alternative to pallidotomy?Neurosurgical Focus, 1997
- Neuropsychological functioning before and after unilateral thalamic stimulating electrode implantation in Parkinson's diseaseNeurosurgical Focus, 1997
- Neurocognitive and psychosocial correlates of ventroposterolateral pallidotomy surgery in Parkinson's diseaseNeurosurgical Focus, 1997
- Surgery for Parkinson's disease.Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry, 1997
- A possible role for altered myelin basic protein in multiple sclerosisAnnals of Neurology, 1996
- Neuropsychological functioning in patients with Parkinson's Disease pre- and post-pallidotomyArchives of Clinical Neuropsychology, 1996
- Glial Differentiation: A Review with Implications for New Directions in Neuro-oncologyNeurosurgery, 1995
- Patient Outcomes after Stereotactic Radiosurgery for “Operable” Arteriovenous MalformationsNeurosurgery, 1994
- IntroductionStereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery, 1992
- ForewordActa Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 1960