60-Hz Frequency Effect on Gait in Parkinson's Disease With Subthalamic Nucleus Deep Brain Stimulation

摘要

ObjectiveGait dysfunction is common in advancing Parkinson's disease and has a disappointing response to dopamine replacement and subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation programming parameters. Low-frequency stimulation, less than 130Hz in combination with increased voltage, has been shown to decrease freezing episodes and number of steps with little impact on overall performance measured by the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale. This was in the setting of delivering the same total energy, which required both a change in voltage and frequency. We wanted to determine if the benefit came from low frequency alone.