DBS Treatment May Slow the Progression of Parkinson's Tremor in Early-Stage Patients

Analysis of data from a clinical trial conducted at Vanderbilt suggests that deep brain stimulation (DBS) administered to patients with very early-stage Parkinson's disease slowed the progression of rest tremor. The study, published June 29 in Neurology, is significant because it is the first evidence of a treatment that may possibly delay the progression of one of the cardinal features of Parkinson's disease. However, the study's authors strongly caution that a larger-scale clinical trial across multiple investigational centers is needed to validate the finding.

"The finding around tremor is truly exceptional," said David Charles, MD, professor and vice-chair of Neurology and senior author. "What it suggests is that DBS applied in early stage Parkinson's disease may slow the progression of tremor. Why it is so remarkable is because there are no treatments for Parkinson's that have been proven to slow the progression of any element of the disease."

Mallory Hacker, PhD, research assistant professor of Neurology and the study's lead author, analyzed data collected from the trial that began in 2006, a trial that was controversial because it recruited patients with early-stage Parkinson's disease for DBS brain surgery. At that time, DBS was approved for only advanced-stage Parkinson's disease when symptoms were no longer adequately controlled by medication.