Unilateral and bilateral pallidotomy for idiopathic Parkinson's disease: a case series of 115 patients.

Lesioning of the internal pallidum is known to improve the symptoms of idiopathic Parkinson's disease (PD) and alleviate dyskinesia and motor fluctuations related to levodopa therapy. The benefit obtained contralateral to a single lesion is insufficient in some cases when symptoms are bilaterally disabling. However, reports of unacceptably high rates of adverse effects after bilateral pallidotomy have limited its use in such cases.

Involvement of the medial pallidum in focal myoclonic dystonia: A clinical and neurophysiological case study.

We successfully treated a patient with familial myoclonic dystonia (FMD), which primarily affected his neck muscles, with bilateral deep brain stimulation (DBS) to the medial pallidum, and investigated the role of the medial pallidum in FMD. A patient with FMD underwent bilateral implantation of DBS electrodes during which field potentials (FPs) in the medial pallidum and electromyograms (EMGs) from the affected neck muscles were recorded. The effects of high-frequency DBS to the medial pallidum on the FMD were also assessed by recording EMGs during and immediately after implantation, as well as 6 days and 8 weeks postoperatively.