South African guideline on deep brain stimulation for Parkinson’s disease

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Authors

Anderson, D.G.
Van Coller, Riaan
Carr, J.

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Publisher

Health and Medical Publishing Group

Abstract

BACKGROUND : Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a common neurodegenerative disease, associated with severe impairment of quality of life. Although the motor aspects of the illness are typically successfully treated with medications acting on the dopaminergic system, a number of patients encounter progressive difficulties associated with their medical treatment. RECOMMENDATIONS : Carefully selected patients will benefit from deep brain stimulation (DBS) treatment for their PD. Selection requires dopamine challenge testing and neuropsychological testing for the presence of cognitive impairment. Careful follow-up and programming of the DBS system are mandatory, and a major reason for DBS failure is inadequate programming and management of medication. CONCLUSION : DBS is a useful component of standard therapy for PD and may reduce symptoms, improve quality of life, promote patient independence and reduce healthcare costs by reducing requirements for medicine.

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Keywords

Parkinson’s disease (PD), Patients, Medical treatment, Deep brain stimulation (DBS)

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Citation

Anderson, D.G., Van Coller, R. & Carr, J. 2017, 'South African guideline on deep brain stimulation for Parkinson’s disease', South African Medical Journal, vol. 107, no. 11, pp. 1027-1032.