Parkinson's disease (PD), the second most prevalent neurodegenerative disease (after Alzheimer's disease), affects more than a million Americans and is a common condition in the Veteran population. Although there is currently no cure for the disease, many of the symptoms of the disease can be effectively managed with medications and with deep brain stimulation (DBS). This study seeks to build upon the original CSP#468 protocol by providing an efficient long-term follow-up study. The objectives of this study are to:
determine whether the motor benefits of deep brain stimulation persist beyond two years of follow-up in patients with Parkinson's disease; determine whether the target of stimulation (GPi vs. STN) affects the durability of long-term motor improvement; define the impact of DBS on long-term function and quality of life in patients with Parkinson's disease; identify clinical features that predict favorable or unfavorable long-term outcome; and describe the long-term performance of the DBS devices, including device durability, device explanation rate, neurostimulator replacement frequency, and changes in stimulation parameters to achieve optimum symptom control.
