Long-term Outcomes (15 Years) After Subthalamic Nucleus Deep Brain Stimulation in Patients With Parkinson Disease.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effects of deep brain stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus (STN-DBS) in Parkinson disease (PD) patients on motor complications beyond 15 years after surgery. METHODS Data about motor complications, quality of life (QoL), activities of daily living, the UPDRS motor scores, dopaminergic treatment, stimulation parameters, and side effects of STN-DBS were retrospectively retrieved and compared between before surgery, at 1 year and beyond 15 years after bilateral STN-DBS. RESULTS Fifty-one patients with 17.06 ± 2.18 years STN-DBS follow-up were recruited. Compared to baseline, the time spent with dyskinesia and the time spent in the off state were reduced by 75% (p<0.001) and by 58.7% (p<0.001), respectively. Moreover, dopaminergic drugs were reduced by 50.6% (p<0.001). The PDQL total score, and the emotional function and social function domains improved of 13.8% (p=0.005), 13.6% (p=0.01) and 29.9% (p