Deep brain stimulation effective, cost-efficient option for advanced Parkinson’s

Key takeaways:

• Longitudinal study included 73 adults with advanced PD who underwent deep brain stimulation or medical therapy in Vietnam.
• Treatment with DBS improved motor function and was more cost-effective.

CHICAGO — Deep brain stimulation was a cost-effective and clinically efficacious option for advanced Parkinson’s disease compared with medical therapy for patients in the Vietnamese health care system, according to research.

At the International Association of Parkinsonism and Related Disorders World Congress, Khang Chung Ngoc Vo, MD, MSc, of the Movement Disorder Unit at the University of Medicine and Pharmacy in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, presented results of a prospective, longitudinal study that compared patients with advanced PD who underwent deep brain stimulation (DBS) surgery or best medical therapy.

Of 73 participants, 36 received DBS (52.8% women; mean age, 63.1 years) and 37 received medical therapy (43.2% women; mean age, 58.2 years), despite eligibility for DBS.

Researchers measured clinical efficacy using the Movement Disorder Society-Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale part III (MDS-UPDRS III) during different disease states, including “on” and “off” stimulation for the DBS group and “on” and “off” medication for the medical therapy group.

They also used the EQ-5D-5L questionnaire to obtain demographic and PD-related data, including levodopa equivalent dose (LED), and received PD-related medical expense information from health care providers.

Data were collected at baseline and again at 3- and 6-month follow-up visits.

According to results, MDS-UPDRS III scores for DBS were superior at baseline (25.7 vs. 19.9), 3 months (30.4 vs. 25.9) and 6 months (29.3 vs. 28.4). DBS also was more cost-effective in correlation with MDS-UPDRS IV at each 3-month visit.

“The study showed deep brain stimulation was efficacious in clinical improvement,” Vo said. “And in the later stage [of Parkinson’s], it can improve the MDS-UPDRS and therefore reduce the ‘off’ time and dyskinesia in those patients.”