Subthalamic deep brain stimulation improves smooth pursuit and saccade performance in patients with Parkinson’s disease

Table 1 Patients’ characteristics and scores of the UPDRS part III

Sex	8 men, 1 woman
Age (years) at surgery, mean (SD)	63.2 (3.9)
PD-duration (years), mean (SD)	16.3 (3.6)
L-dopa equivalents (mg/day), mean (SD)	481.5 (242.1)
Months since DBS-surgery, mean (SD)	42.0 (20.1)
DBS parameter settings, mean (SD), Amplitude (V), pulse width (μs), Frequency (Hz)	Right: 3.4 (0.54) V, 66.7 (13.2)μs, 138.3 (40.2) Hz
	Left: 3.4 (0.62) V, 66.7 (13.2)μs, 138.3 (40.2) Hz
Location of contacts with negative polarity, in relation to the midpoint of the intercommissural line (IC), mean (SD)	Right: 11.3 (0.91) mm lateral, 3.5 (0.33) mm posterior, 2.4 (1.4) mm inferior.
	Left: 11.3 (0.95) mm lateral, 3.9 (0.70) mm posterior, 2.8 (1.0) mm inferior.
	IC = 24.8 (0.59) mm
UPDRS part III scores, without anti-PD medication
- DBS turned OFF, median (q1-q3)	42.5 (38.3-56.5)
- DBS turned ON, median (q1-q3)	22.0 (17.5-25.3)

Levodopa equivalents are calculated according to Østergaard et al., and Calne.
UPDRS part III: Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale, motor examination. Higher scores denote more severe motor symptoms. The maximum total score on the UPDRS part III is 108 points, and higher scores reflect more severe motor symptoms.
Without medication: Overnight withdrawal of all anti-Parkinsonian medication for 10–12 hours. All individuals were on L-dopa, and seven out of the nine participants were also on dopamine agonists (ranging from 20-50% of LED). When tested, all participants experienced off symptoms.
Of note, the assessments of severity of PD using UPDRS scores were done at the same occasion as the assessments of oculomotor functions.

ISSN: 1743-0003