Objective: Our objective was to evaluate associations between personality dimensions and Quality of Life (QoL) amelioration after one year of Deep Brain Stimulation of the Sub-Thalamic Nucleus (DBS-STN) in Parkinson’s Disease (PD).

Background: In PD, QoL is highly impacted by motor fluctuations. Therefore, at this stage, DBS-STN can be proposed to PD patients and usually objectively improve their motor state [1]. Nevertheless, some patients remain disappointed after DBS-STN and do not really feel better [2]. It is why supplementary factors are needed to ensure patients’ satisfaction after this surgical treatment.

Method: Three hundred and three PD patients were included in the study, from the PREDI-STIM cohort. Patients’ QoL was evaluated by the PDQ-39 (Parkinson’s Disease Questionnaire-39) before and after one year of DBS-STN, and personality was only evaluated before stimulation by the TCI (Temperament and Character Inventory) [3]. Associations between these two variables were assessed with linear regression models.

Results: Some associations between the TCI and the percentage of evolution of PDQ-39 scores after one year of DBS-STN were found. The “Novelty Seeking” temperament, a subdimension of “Harm Avoidance” (“Fatigability”) and the “Cooperativeness” character were significantly and negatively associated with percentage of evolution of PDQ-39 scores after DBS-STN, meaning that higher scores at these three personality dimensions were associated with better PDQ-39 outcomes.

Conclusion: Higher “Novelty Seeking”, “Fatigability” and “Cooperativeness” scores before stimulation were associated with a better improvement of QoL after one year of DBS-STN in PD. So some personality dimensions could be important factors to respond positively to DBS: being highly motivated by novelty (high “Novelty Seeking”) and being socially mature and listening to others (high “Cooperativeness”) help to have a better QoL after stimulation. Furthermore, we think that Fatigability of PD patients may decrease after DBS and that this is valuable to patients’ QoL improvement. Ultimately, according to our results, it should be interesting to propose specific educational programs to PD patients undergoing DBS to prepare them at best to accept and benefit from the changes induced by it.

References: [1] Kleiner‐Fisman, G., Herzog, J., Fisman, D. N., Tamma, F., Lyons, K. E., Pahwa, R., Lang, A. E., & Deuschl, G. (2006). Subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation: Summary and meta‐analysis of outcomes. Movement Disorders, 21(14). [2] Agid, Y., Schüpbach, M., Gargiulo, M., Mallet, L., Houeto, J. L., Behar, C., Maltête, D., Mesnage, V., & Welter, M. L. (2006). Neurosurgery in Parkinson’s disease: The doctor is happy, the patient less so? In P. Riederer, H. Reichmann, M. B. H. Youdim, & M. Gerlach (Eds.), Parkinson’s Disease and Related Disorders (pp. 409–414). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-211-45295-0_61 [3] Cloninger, C. R., Przybeck, T. R., Svrakic, D. M., & Wetzel, R. D. (1994). The temperament and character inventory (TCI): A guide to its development and use. Center for Psychobiology of Personality, Washington University.

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/personality-dimensions-could-be-predictive-of-quality-of-life-outcome-after-deep-brain-stimulation-of-the-sub-thalamic-nucleus-in-parkinsons-disease/