scholarly journals Disparities in Deep Brain Stimulation Use for Parkinson’s Disease in Ontario, Canada

2020 ◽  
Vol 47 (5) ◽  
pp. 642-655
Author(s):  
James A.G. Crispo ◽  
Melody Lam ◽  
Britney Le ◽  
Lucie Richard ◽  
Salimah Z. Shariff ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Parkinson’S Disease ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Parkinson's Disease ◽  
Deep Brain Stimulation ◽  
Health Care Utilization ◽  
Brain Stimulation ◽  
Conditional Logistic Regression ◽  
Care Utilization ◽  
To Receive ◽  
Deep Brain

ABSTRACT:Objective:To examine whether sociodemographic characteristics and health care utilization are associated with receiving deep brain stimulation (DBS) surgery for Parkinson’s disease (PD) in Ontario, Canada.Methods:Using health administrative data, we identified a cohort of individuals aged 40 years or older diagnosed with incident PD between 1995 and 2009. A case-control study was used to examine whether select factors were associated with DBS for PD. Patients were classified as cases if they underwent DBS surgery at any point 1-year after cohort entry until December 31, 2016. Conditional logistic regression modeling was used to estimate the adjusted odds of DBS surgery for sociodemographic and health care utilization indicators.Results:A total of 46,237 individuals with PD were identified, with 543 (1.2%) receiving DBS surgery. Individuals residing in northern Ontario were more likely than southern patients to receive DBS surgery [adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 2.23, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.15–4.34]; however, regional variations were not observed after accounting for medication use among older adults (AOR = 1.04, 95% CI = 0.26–4.21). Patients living in neighborhoods with the highest concentration of visible minorities were less likely to receive DBS surgery compared to patients living in predominantly white neighborhoods (AOR = 0.27, 95% CI = 0.16–0.46). Regular neurologist care and use of multiple PD medications were positively associated with DBS surgery.Conclusions:Variations in use of DBS may reflect differences in access to care, specialist referral pathways, health-seeking behavior, or need for DBS. Future studies are needed to understand drivers of potential disparities in DBS use.

scholarly journals Deep Brain Stimulation for Parkinson’s Disease During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Patient Perspective

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chencheng Zhang ◽  
Jing Zhang ◽  
Xian Qiu ◽  
Yingying Zhang ◽  
Zhengyu Lin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Parkinson’S Disease ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Parkinson's Disease ◽  
Deep Brain Stimulation ◽  
Medical Care ◽  
Brain Stimulation ◽  
Virus Spread ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Deep Brain

BackgroundPublic health guidelines have recommended that elective medical procedures, including deep brain stimulation (DBS) surgery for Parkinson’s disease (PD), should not be scheduled during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic to prevent further virus spread and overload on health care systems. However, delaying DBS surgery for PD may not be in the best interest of individual patients and is not called for in regions where virus spread is under control and inpatient facilities are not overloaded.MethodsWe administered a newly developed phone questionnaire to 20 consecutive patients with PD who received DBS surgery in Ruijin Hospital in Shanghai during the COVID-19 pandemic. The questionnaire was designed to gather the patients’ experiences and perceptions on the impact of COVID-19 on their everyday activities and access to medical care.ResultsMost of the patients felt confident about the preventive measures taken by the government and hospitals, and they have changed their daily living activities accordingly. Moreover, a large majority of patients felt confident obtaining access to regular and COVID-19-related health care services if needed. Routine clinical referral, sense of security in the hospital during the outbreak, and poor control of PD symptoms were the three main reasons given by patients for seeking DBS surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic.ConclusionThe COVID-19 pandemic has considerably impacted medical care and patients’ lives but elective procedures, such as DBS surgery for PD, do not need to be rescheduled when the health care system is not overloaded and adequate public health regulations are in place.

Influence of deep brain stimulation and levodopa on signs and symptoms in Parkinson's disease

2009 ◽  
Vol 36 (S 02) ◽  
Author(s):  
J Gierthmühlen ◽  
P Arning ◽  
G Wasner ◽  
A Binder ◽  
J Herzog ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Parkinson’S Disease ◽  
Parkinson's Disease ◽  
Deep Brain Stimulation ◽  
Brain Stimulation ◽  
Signs And Symptoms ◽  
Deep Brain

Visual Effects of Deep Brain Stimulation in a Patient with Parkinson’s Disease

2019 ◽  
pp. 158-173
Keyword(s):  
Parkinson’S Disease ◽  
Parkinson's Disease ◽  
Deep Brain Stimulation ◽  
Visual System ◽  
Brain Stimulation ◽  
Neurodegenerative Disorder ◽  
Initial Examination ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Deep Brain ◽  
Cover Test

Background: Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder caused by a dopamine deficiency that presents with motor symptoms. Visual disorders can occur concomitantly but are frequently overlooked. Deep brain stimulation (DBS) has been an effective treatment to improve tremors, stiffness and overall mobility, but little is known about its effects on the visual system. Case Report: A 75-year-old Caucasian male with PD presented with longstanding binocular diplopia. On baseline examination, the best-corrected visual acuity was 20/25 in each eye. On observation, he had noticeable tremors with an unsteady gait. Distance alternating cover test showed exophoria with a right hyperphoria. Near alternating cover test revealed a significantly larger exophoria accompanied by a reduced near point of convergence. Additional testing with a 24-2 Humphrey visual field and optical coherence tomography (OCT) of the nerve and macula were unremarkable. The patient underwent DBS implantation five weeks after initial examination, and the device was activated four weeks thereafter. At follow up, the patient still complained of intermittent diplopia. There was no significant change in the manifest refraction or prism correction. On observation, the patient had remarkably improved tremors with a steady gait. All parameters measured were unchanged. The patient was evaluated again seven months after device activation. Although vergence ranges at all distances were improved, the patient was still symptomatic for intermittent diplopia. OCT scans of the optic nerve showed borderline but symmetric thinning in each eye. All other parameters measured were unchanged. Conclusion: The case found no significant changes on ophthalmic examination after DBS implantation and activation in a patient with PD. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, there are no other cases in the literature that investigated the effects of DBS on the visual system pathway in a patient with PD before and after DBS implantation and activation.

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