Factors related to recurrence after lesion of the subthalamic nucleus for the treatment of Parkinson's disease

Abstract

Recurrence occurred in 3 out of our 54 patients who underwent STN lesioning for PD. In an attempt to determine if there were any findings related to recurrence, the patients were divided into two groups: those with recurrence (n = 3) and those with stable results (n = 51) after a follow-up period of 4 to 102 months, and compared regarding the following parameters: lesioning parameters, lesion diameters, lesion aspect in the early T2-weighted postoperative MRI, and STN territory involved by the lesion. Lesion diameters and lesioning parameters were similar in both groups. Involvement exclusively of the central STN territory and lesions with the hyperintense aspect on the early T2-weighted postoperative MRI occurred only in patients with recurrence. The authors conclude that these two findings should probably be regarded as poor prognostic factors following STN lesioning for PD.

From August 1999 to October 2007 we performed subthalamic nucleus (STN) lesioning for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease (PD) in 54 patients. The recurrence rate was 5.6% (3 out of 54 patients), occurring within the first postoperative month in all patients. In this paper, the authors try to determine if there are any findings related to the recurrence.