Cerebrospinal fluid protein markers in PD patients after DBS-STN surgery-A retrospective analysis of patients that underwent surgery between 1993 and 2001.

Objective: Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) markers of neurodegeneration [neurofilament light chain (NFL), total Tau (T-Tau)], tau pathology [phosphorylated tau (p-Tau)], glial cell damage or activation [glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP)], and brain amyloidosis [β-amyloid 1-42 (Aβ42)] are useful for diagnosis and prognosis in several neurodegenerative disorders. In this paper we investigate these markers and their relationship to key clinical milestones in patients with advanced Parkinson´s disease (PD) operated at our center with subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation (STN-DBS) for at least 15 years ago.

Patients And Methods: Retrospective analysis of available cerebrospinal fluid and clinical data in PD-patients, 15 years or more after they underwent STN-DBS surgery.

Key clinical milestones 15 years and onwards after DBS-STN surgery-A retrospective analysis of patients that underwent surgery between 1993 and 2001.

Objective: Subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation (STN-DBS) is an effective treatment for motor fluctuations in Parkinson's disease (PD), but does not halt disease progression. The long-term deterioration of key functions such as cognition, speech, ability to swallow, gait, urinary bladder control, orientation and reality perception is decisive for patients' independency in daily life. In this paper we investigated patients with advanced PD operated at our center with STN-DBS for at least 15 years ago, in respect to key clinical milestones reflecting their overall function in daily living.