NIH

Adaptive deep brain stimulation shows promise for treating Parkinson’s symptoms

August 21, 2024

Adaptive deep brain stimulation, or aDBS, reduced Parkinson's disease (PD) symptoms by 50% in this small NIH-funded feasibility study. Researchers say their findings emphasize the potential of customized, adaptive neurostimulation for PD and pave the way for larger clinical trials to assess the effectiveness of this personalized approach.

• Researchers tested the efficacy of aDBS in four males with PD by comparing it with constant DBS (cDBS). A newer technology, aDBS operates as a closed-loop implant that picks up brain signals in real time to create a continuous feedback mechanism that can curtail symptoms as they arise.
• To ensure treatment provided maximum relief, researchers asked participants to identify their most bothersome symptoms (e.g., involuntary movements, difficulty in initiating movement) that had persisted despite cDBS treatment. After training the aDBS algorithm for several months, participants were sent home with both aDBS and cDBS treatments, where comparison tests were performed by alternating between the two treatments every 2-7 days.
• aDBS improved each participant’s most bothersome symptom by roughly 50% compared with cDBS. The majority of participants (three of the four) were often able to correctly guess when they were on aDBS due to noticeable symptom improvement, despite not being told which treatment they were receiving at any given time.

Sources:

(2024, August 20). NIH. Self-adjusting brain pacemaker may help reduce Parkinson’s disease symptoms. [News release]. https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/self-adjusting-brain-pacemaker-may-help-reduce-parkinson-s-disease-symptoms

Oehrn CR, et al. (2024, August 19). Nat Med. Chronic adaptive deep brain stimulation versus conventional stimulation in Parkinson's disease: a blinded randomized feasibility trial. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39160351/