REVIEW article
Front. Neurol.
Sec. Movement Disorders
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fneur.2025.1449973
This article is part of the Research TopicMagnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound (MRgFUS)View all 13 articles
Ameliorating motor performance and Quality of Life in Parkinson's Disease: A Comparison of Deep Brain Stimulation and Focused Ultrasound Surgery
Provisionally accepted
- 1Shenzhen People’s Hospital(The Second Clinical Medical College, Jinan University; The First Affiliated Hospital, Southern University of Science and Technology), Shenzhen, China
- 2The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine (Guangdong Clinical Research Academy of Chinese Medicine), Guangzhou, China
- 3ZHONGSHAN SIXTH PEOPLE'S HOSPITAL (TORCH DEVELOPMENT ZONE PEOPLE'S HOSPITAL), Zhongshan, China
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Introduction Deep brain stimulation (DBS) and magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound surgery (MRgFUS) have emerged as valuable treatment options for Parkinson's disease (PD) with drug-resistant symptoms. However, comparative studies of various DBS targets and MRgFUS are still limited.We reviewed three databases for trials on the effects of DBS or MRgFUS on PD patients, focusing on motor performance and quality of life (QoL). A frequentist network meta-analysis was conducted to estimate the treatment effects.Results There were 39 trials in this study, comprising 3002 patients. In the off-phase, subthalamic nucleus_DBS (STN_DBS [SMD, -0.94; 95%CI, -1.40 to -0.48]) significantly improved the UPDRS-III Total score compared to medication treatment alone (MT). In the on-phase, STN_DBS (SMD, -0.83; 95%CI, -1.13 to -0.53), internal globus pallidus_DBS (GPi_DBS [SMD, -0.80; 95%CI, -1.20 to -0.40]), and STN_Focused Ultrasound (STN_FUS [SMD, -1.83; 95%CI, -2.97 to -0.68]) significantly improved the UPDRS-III Total score. Regarding QoL, STN_DBS (SMD, -0.75; 95% CI, -1.46 to -0.05) and GPi_DBS (SMD, -0.58; 95% CI, -0.96 to -0.21) demonstrated better outcomes compared to MT. The SUCRA plot indicated that the top three treatments for UPDRS-III Total score in the off-phase were STN_FUS (79.6%), STN-GPi_DBS (73.7%), and STN_DBS (69.1%). In the on-phase, the top three treatments were STN_FUS (95.7%), STN_DBS (69.6%), and GPi_DBS (66.9%). Regarding QoL, GPi_DBS (77.2%) ranks first, followed by STN_DBS (67.3%), STN_FUS (56.9%) ranks third.Conclusions STN_DBS, GPi_DBS, and STN_FUS have exhibited efficacy in ameliorating motor performance and enhancing QoL in PD patients. Nevertheless, as a potential alternative to STN_DBS with comparable efficacy, STN-FUS may serve as another treatment option.
Keywords: Deep Brain Stimulation, Magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound surgery, network metaanalysis, Parkinson's disease, Quality of Life
Received: 16 Jun 2024; Accepted: 21 Apr 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Liang, Hou, Liang and Bao. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Shengyong Bao, Shenzhen People’s Hospital(The Second Clinical Medical College, Jinan University; The First Affiliated Hospital, Southern University of Science and Technology), Shenzhen, China
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