Effect of Deep Brain Stimulation on Parkinson Disease Dementia: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Introduction: Patients in the early stages of Parkinson disease (PD) may have subtle cognitive deficits, while overt cognitive deficits are usually manifestations of late-stage PD. There is still a debate on the outcome of deep brain stimulation (DBS) on the cognitive function of PD patients. This study aimed to investigate the effect of subthalamic nucleus (STN)-DBS on the dementia of PD patients after surgery compared to medical therapy and other procedures.

Neurological soft signs as trait markers of a subset of patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder with low insight and altered cognitive abilities.

Neurological soft signs (NSS) are subtle motor control impairments that include involuntary movements and abnormalities of motor coordination, sensory integration and lateralization. They engage different brain networks, including the prefrontal networks that support the higher cognitive functions that are dysfunctional in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). This study investigated the relationships between the presence of NSS and patients' severity of OCD symptoms, insight, and treatment resistance in a sample of 63 patients.

The effects of transcranial direct-current stimulation (tDCS) on pain intensity of patients with fibromyalgia: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Introduction: Fibromyalgia (FM) is a chronic pain condition that affects millions of people worldwide. Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) is a non-invasive brain stimulation technique that has shown promise as a potential treatment for FM by modulating pain perception and reducing symptoms, such as fatigue and depression. We aimed to systematically review studies that assess the effect of tDCS on pain reduction in FM patients.

High treatment resistance is associated with lower performance in the Stroop test in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Around 50% of the patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) are resistant to treatment, and patients with OCD show alterations in a broad range of cognitive abilities. The present study investigated the links between treatment-resistance, executive and working memory abilities, and the severity of OCD symptoms among 66 patients with OCD. The patients performed seven tests gauging their executive functions and working memory and filled in questionnaires for OCD severity and insight into their pathology.

Correlation of response to subthalamic deep brain stimulation in Parkinson's disease patients with striatal dopamine transporter density on 99mtc-TRODAT-1 SPECT.

Background: Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is a surgical approach with electrical stimulation of certain parts of the brain, which reduce Parkinson's disease (PD) symptoms. Since the loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra is the main pathophysiology of PD, we aimed to evaluate the association of response to DBS with preoperative dopamine transporter density (DAT) and its postoperative changes in PD patients who underwent the bilateral implantation of the electrodes in the subthalamic nucleus (STN).

Method: A prospective evaluation of Parkinson's disease patients who underwent STN-DBS for 2 years was done.