To sleep or not to sleep during deep brain stimulation surgery for Parkinson disease?

In functional stereotactic neurosurgery, precise placement of lesions or deep brain stimulation (DBS) electrodes is paramount. From the beginning of the specialty, electrical stimulation of the brain target prior to lesioning, and confirmation of accuracy of targeting by postoperative imaging, have been critical.1 Two schools subsequently evolved: one using macroelectrode stimulation in the awake patient with careful on-table assessment and one using microelectrode recording (MER) to map out boundaries of the target followed by microstimulation to assess efficacy and avoid side effects. For many, the latter technique was adopted as the gold standard, but the evidence to support the superior efficacy or better safety of this stance was lacking.2

Source: Neurology - November 6, 2017 Category: Neurology Authors: Aziz, T. Z., Hariz, M. Tags: EDITORIALS Source Type: research