Objective: To compare fall risk in Parkinson’s disease patients with and without deep brain stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus.

Background: The prevention of falls is a major area of unmet need in Parkinson’s disease (PD). According to the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, 1 out of 4 people over the age of 65 years fall each year and 1 out of 5 falls results in head injury or bone fractures.

Method: Every patient who presented to the PD clinic was asked to complete a “stay independent questionnaire” which classifies patients as low risk, moderate risk or high risk for falling. For those with past falls, more specific information related to the falls was collected.

Results: There were 480 patients with a mean age of 70.6 years, disease duration of 10.7 years, fall risk assessment score of 6.8 and MOCA score of 23. Forty seven percent of the patients had fallen in the last month and 66% in the last year; 18% of which had suffered an injury. Table 1 depicts general characteristics based on fall risk. Table 2 compares fall risk of those with and without DBS.

Conclusion: Although PD patients with STN DBS have a higher risk of falling compared to those without DBS, injuries were not significantly increased.

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/impact-of-deep-brain-stimulation-on-fall-risk/