Browsing by Author "Foltynie, Thomas"

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    Pedunculopontine Nucleus Deep Brain Stimulation in Parkinson’s Disease: A Clinical Review
    (Wiley, 2017-09) Thevathasan, Wesley; Debu, Bettina; Bloem, Bastiaan; Blahak, Christian; Butson, Christopher; Czernecki, Virgine; Foltynie, Thomas; Fraix, Valerie; Grabli, David; Joint, Carole; Lozano, Andres; Okum, Michael; Ostrem, Jill; Pavese, Nicola; Schrader, Christoph; Tai, Chun-Hwei; Krauss, Joachim; Moro, Elena
    Pedunculopontine nucleus region deep brain stimulation (DBS) is a promising but experimental therapy for axial motor deficits in Parkinson's disease (PD), particularly gait freezing and falls. Here, we summarise the clinical application and outcomes reported during the past 10 years. The published dataset is limited, comprising fewer than 100 cases. Furthermore, there is great variability in clinical methodology between and within surgical centers. The most common indication has been severe medication refractory gait freezing (often associated with postural instability). Some patients received lone pedunculopontine nucleus DBS (unilateral or bilateral) and some received costimulation of the subthalamic nucleus or internal pallidum. Both rostral and caudal pedunculopontine nucleus subregions have been targeted. However, the spread of stimulation and variance in targeting means that neighboring brain stem regions may be implicated in any response. Low stimulation frequencies are typically employed (20-80 Hertz). The fluctuating nature of gait freezing can confound programming and outcome assessments. Although firm conclusions cannot be drawn on therapeutic efficacy, the literature suggests that medication refractory gait freezing and falls can improve. The impact on postural instability is unclear. Most groups report a lack of benefit on gait or limb akinesia or dopaminergic medication requirements. The key question is whether pedunculopontine nucleus DBS can improve quality of life in PD. So far, the evidence supporting such an effect is minimal. Development of pedunculopontine nucleus DBS to become a reliable, established therapy would likely require a collaborative effort between experienced centres to clarify biomarkers predictive of response and the optimal clinical methodology. (c) 2017 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society.
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    Tremor Reduction by Deep Brain Stimulation Is Associated With Gamma Power Suppression in Parkinson's Disease
    (John Wiley and Sons, 2015-07) Beudel, Martjin; Little, Simon; Pogosyan, Alek; Ashkan, Keyoumars; Foltynie, Thomas; Limousin, Patricia; Zrinzo, Ludvic; Hariz, Marwan; Bogdanovic, Marko; Cheeran, Binith; Green, Alexander; Aziz, Tipu; Thevathasan, Wesley; Brown, Peter
    Objectives Rest tremor is a cardinal symptom of Parkinson's disease (PD), and is readily suppressed by deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the subthalamic nucleus (STN). The therapeutic effect of the latter on bradykinesia and rigidity has been associated with the suppression of exaggerated beta (13–30 Hz) band synchronization in the vicinity of the stimulating electrode, but there is no correlation between beta suppression and tremor amplitude. In the present study, we investigate whether tremor suppression is related to suppression of activities at other frequencies. Materials and Methods We recorded hand tremor and contralateral local field potential (LFP) activity from DBS electrodes during stimulation of the STN in 15 hemispheres in 11 patients with PD. DBS was applied with increasing voltages starting at 0.5 V until tremor suppression was achieved or until 4.5 V was reached. Results Tremor was reduced to 48.9% ± 10.9% of that without DBS once stimulation reached 2.5–3 V (t14 = −4.667, p < 0.001). There was a parallel suppression of low gamma (31–45 Hz) power to 92.5% ± 3% (t14 = −2.348, p = 0.034). This was not seen over a band containing tremor frequencies and their harmonic (4–12 Hz), or over the beta band. Moreover, low gamma power correlated with tremor severity (mean r = 0.43 ± 0.14, p = 0.008) within subjects. This was not the case for LFP power in the other two bands. Conclusions Our findings support a relationship between low gamma oscillations and PD tremor, and reinforce the principle that the subthalamic LFP is a rich signal that may contain information about the severity of multiple different Parkinsonian features.