Interleaved programming of subthalamic deep brain stimulation to avoid adverse effects and preserve motor benefit in Parkinson’s disease

Subthalamic nucleus (STN) deep brain stimulation (DBS) is the most common surgical treatment for managing motor complications in Parkinson’s disease (PD). Ultimately, outcomes depend on a variety of factors including lead location, access and expertize in programming and PD medical management. Nevertheless, achieving ideal programming settings can be difficult in certain patients, leading to suboptimal control of symptoms and stimulation-induced side effects, notably dysarthria and dyskinesia. Interleaved stimulation (ILS) is a newer programming technique that attempts to optimize the stimulation field, improving control of symptoms while minimizing stimulation-induced adverse effects. A retrospective chart review was performed on PD patients receiving STN DBS over the past 12 months. Clinical and demographic data were collected from patients identified as having received ILS. The rationale and clinical efficacy of ILS was analyzed. Nine patients received ILS due to incomplete PD symptom control or stimulation-induced side effects after attempting multiple programming options. Appropriate lead location was confirmed with postoperative MRI except in one case. Following ILS, patients reported improvement in symptoms and resolution of side effects, while preserving adequate control in Parkinsonism with a mean improvement in UPDRS-MOTOR scores of 51.2 %. ILS continues to emerge as a safe and effective programming strategy for maximizing symptom control in PD while diminishing stimulation-induced side effects.