Brain connectivity changes when comparing effects of subthalamic deep brain stimulation with levodopa treatment in Parkinson's disease

Publication date: Available online 9 May 2018Source: NeuroImage: ClinicalAuthor(s): Karsten Mueller, Robert Jech, Filip Růžička, Štefan Holiga, Tommaso Ballarini, Ondřej Bezdicek, Harald E. Möller, Josef Vymazal, Evžen Růžička, Matthias L. Schroeter, Dušan UrgošíkAbstractLevodopa and, later, deep brain stimulation (DBS) have become the mainstays of therapy for motor symptoms associated with Parkinson's disease (PD). Although these therapeutic options lead to similar clinical outcomes, the neural mechanisms underlying their efficacy are different. Therefore, investigating the differential effects of DBS and levodopa on functional brain architecture and associated motor improvement is of paramount interest. Namely, we expected changes in functional brain connectivity patterns when comparing levodopa treatment with DBS.Clinical assessment and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was performed before and after implanting electrodes for DBS in the subthalamic nucleus (STN) in 13 PD patients suffering from severe levodopa-induced motor fluctuations and peak-of-dose dyskinesia. All measurements were acquired in a within subject-design with and without levodopa treatment, and with and without DBS. Brain connectivity changes were computed using eigenvector centrality (EC) that offers a data-driven and parameter-free approach—similarly to Google's PageRank algorithm—revealing brain regions that have an increased connectivity to other regions that are highly con...
Source: NeuroImage: Clinical - Category: Radiology Source Type: research