Laterality and frequency settings of subthalamic nucleus DBS for Parkinson's disease: A systematic review and network meta-analysis

Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) is an effective treatment for the motor symptoms of Parkinson's Disease. The targeted physiological structure for lead location is commonly the subthalamic nucleus (STN). The efficacy of DBS for improving motor symptoms is assessed via the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating III Scale (UPDRS-III). In this study, we sought to compare the efficacy of different parameters utilized for STN-DBS. Following PRISMA Guidelines, a search on PUBMED and MEDLINE was performed to include full-length randomized controlled trials evaluating STN-DBS. Laterality and frequency stimulation parameters were extracted in the search. High frequency stimulation (HFS) was defined as ≥130 Hz and low-frequency stimulation (LFS) was defined as