Safety and efficiency of deep brain stimulation in the elderly patients with Parkinson's disease

Aims Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is not routinely performed in elderly patients (≥75 years old) to date because of concerns about complications and decreased benefit. This study aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of DBS in elderly patients with Parkinson's disease. Methods A retrospective analysis was performed using data from 40 elderly patients from four centers who were treated with neurosurgical robot‐assisted DBS between September 2016 and December 2021. These patients were followed up for a minimum period of 2 years, with a subgroup of nine patients followed up for 5–7 years. Patient demographic characteristics, surgical information, pre‐ and postoperative motor scores, non‐motor scores, activities of daily living, and complications were retrospectively analyzed. Results The mean surgical procedure duration was 1.65 ± 0.24 h, with a mean electrode implantation duration of 1.10 ± 0.23 h and a mean pulse generator implantation duration of 0.55 ± 0.07 h. The mean pneumocephalus volume, electrode fusion error, and Tao's DBS surgery scale were 16.23 ± 12.81 cm3, 0.81 ± 0.23 mm, and 77.63 ± 8.08, respectively. One patient developed a skin infection, and the device was removed. The Unified Parkinson's disease rating scale, Unified Parkinson's disease rating scale of Part III, tremor, rigidity, bradykinesia, axial, and Barthel index for activities of daily living (ADL‐Barthel) scores significantly improved at the 2‐year follow‐up (p