Does subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation really improve quality of life in Parkinson's disease?

We investigated the impact of subthalamic nucleus (STN) deep brain stimulation (DBS) on quality of life (QOL) in patients with advanced Parkinson's disease, as self-assessed before and after surgery by completing the Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire (PDQ39). In addition to this prospective evaluation, we asked patients postoperatively to evaluate their preoperative QOL. In the prospective assessment, results showed that patients perceived a general improvement of QOL after the STN DBS.

Patients with acute stroke: recent developments in neuroimaging.

The authors discuss recent developments in neuroimaging and their role in the evaluation of patients with acute stroke from diagnostic, therapeutic, and prognostic points of view. New techniques permit a more detailed evaluation of the pathophysiology of stroke and therefore may lead to better management. This improvement is due to the increased sensitivity of the diagnostic tests in the acute phase of stroke to detect ischemic lesions and the ability to estimate tissue perfusion to determine vascular status.