Abstract
The adverse effects of deep brain stimulation (DBS) surgery on swallowing could potentially exacerbate the natural deterioration of airway protection associated with Parkinson’s disease (PD) degeneration and increase the incidence of aspiration pneumonia and associated death. There are no studies that compare swallowing outcomes associated with subthalamic nucleus (STN) versus globus pallidus interna (GPi) DBS surgery; therefore, we completed a retrospective study comparing swallowing outcomes in a cohort of patients with PD who underwent unilateral DBS surgery in either the STN or GPi. A chart review was completed to identify all patients with a diagnosis of PD who received videofluoroscopic swallowing evaluations before DBS and after unilateral DBS in the STN or GPi. The retrospective search yielded 33 patients (STN = 14, GPi = 19) with idiopathic PD who met the inclusion criteria. Mean penetration–aspiration (PA) scores did not change significantly for participants who underwent GPi surgery (z = –.181, p = .857), but mean PA scores significantly worsened for participants who underwent STN DBS (z = –2.682, p = .007). There was a significant improvement in Unified PD Rating Scale (UPDRS) scores off medication before surgery, to off medication and on stimulation after surgery for both groups (F = 23.667, p < .001). Despite the limitations of a retrospective analysis, this preliminary study suggests that unilateral STN DBS may have an adverse effect on swallowing function, while unilateral GPi DBS does not appear to have a similar deleterious effect. This study and other future studies should help to elucidate the mechanisms underpinning the effects of DBS on swallowing function.
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Acknowledgments
The authors thank the participants and their families. This work was funded in part by an National Institutes of Health (NCATS) CTSA through the University of Florida (UL1TR000064 and KL2TR000065).
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Dr. Troche’s work is supported in part by an NIH (NCATS) CTSA through the University of Florida (UL1TR000064 and KL2TR000065). Ms. Brandimore’s work is supported in part by a predoctoral fellowship through the Department of Veterans Affairs. Dr. Morishita has been supported by Japan Society for Promotion of Science and St. Luke Life Science Institute. He has received honoraria from Otsuka pharmaceutical as a consultant within the past 12 months. Dr. Hegland’s work is supported in part by the American Heart Association and BAE defense systems. Dr. Okun serves as a consultant for the National Parkinson Foundation and has received research grants from NIH, NPF, the Michael J. Fox Foundation, the Parkinson Alliance, Smallwood Foundation, the Bachmann-Strauss Foundation, the Tourette Syndrome Association, and the UF Foundation. Dr. Okun has previously received honoraria, but in the past >36 months has received no support from industry. Dr. Okun has received royalties for publications with Demos, Manson, Amazon, and Cambridge (movement disorders books). Dr. Okun is an associate editor for New England Journal of Medicine Journal Watch Neurology. Dr. Okun has participated in CME activities on movement disorders in the last 36 months sponsored by PeerView, Prime, and Vanderbilt University. The institution and not Dr. Okun receives grants from Medtronic and ANS/St. Jude and has no financial interest in these grants. Dr. Okun has participated as a site primary investigator and/or coinvestigator for several NIH-, foundation-, and industry-sponsored trials over the years but has not received honoraria. Dr. Foote and Mr. Chen have no disclosures to report.
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Troche, M.S., Brandimore, A.E., Foote, K.D. et al. Swallowing Outcomes Following Unilateral STN vs. GPi Surgery: A Retrospective Analysis. Dysphagia 29, 425–431 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00455-014-9522-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00455-014-9522-0