AUTHOR=De Jesus Sol , Okun Michael S. , Foote Kelly D. , Martinez-Ramirez Daniel , Roper Jaimie A. , Hass Chris J. , Shahgholi Leili , Akbar Umer , Wagle Shukla Aparna , Raike Robert S. , Almeida Leonardo TITLE=Square Biphasic Pulse Deep Brain Stimulation for Parkinson’s Disease: The BiP-PD Study JOURNAL=Frontiers in Human Neuroscience VOLUME=13 YEAR=2019 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/human-neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fnhum.2019.00368 DOI=10.3389/fnhum.2019.00368 ISSN=1662-5161 ABSTRACT=Background

Conventional Parkinson’s disease (PD) deep brain stimulation (DBS) utilizes a pulse with an active phase and a passive charge-balancing phase. A pulse-shaping strategy that eliminates the passive phase may be a promising approach to addressing movement disorders.

Objectives

The current study assessed the safety and tolerability of square biphasic pulse shaping (sqBIP) DBS for use in PD.

Methods

This small pilot safety and tolerability study compared sqBiP versus conventional DBS. Nine were enrolled. The safety and tolerability were assessed over a 3-h period on sqBiP. Friedman’s test compared blinded assessments at baseline, washout, and 30 min, 1 h, 2 h, and 3 h post sqBIP.

Results

Biphasic pulses were safe and well tolerated by all participants. SqBiP performed as well as conventional DBS without significant differences in motor scores nor accelerometer or gait measures.

Conclusion

Biphasic pulses were well-tolerated and provided similar benefit to conventional DBS. Further studies should address effectiveness of sqBIP in select PD patients.