Since the late 1990s, deep brain stimulation (DBS) has become an established treatment for motor symptoms that fail to be adequately controlled by medication in advanced Parkinson’s disease. This therapy involves the surgical insertion of fine-wire electrodes into one or more of the central nervous system’s nuclei and allows neurologists to artificially stimulate different areas of the brain to normalise the regions’ neural output. 

While empirical evidence shows that DBS targeting the subthalamic nucleus (STN-DBS) leads to sustained improvements in limb tremor, bradykinesia and quality of life for people with Parkinson’s disease, improvements in gait and balance dysfunction are known to be more variable and less durable. These variable outcomes led to the introduction and evaluation of a new and neural target known as the pedunculopontine nucleus (PPN); a reticular nucleus situated deep within the brain that is believed to play an important role in the initiation and control of locomotion. 

The seminar will introduce deep brain stimulation (DBS) and highlight some of the research conducted to evaluate the efficacy of DBS on improving symptoms of postural instability and gait disability in people with Parkinson’s disease.

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