Pedunculopontine nucleus stimulation for people with Parkinson's disease? A clinical perspective.

Subthalamic deep brain stimulation is now well established as a treatment for the dopaminergic motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease. It has little effect on postural instability and "on-state" gait freezing. Animal experiments and early human pilot studies suggest that Pedunculopontine nucleus stimulation may alleviate these phenomenon, consistent with the hypothesis that these disabling symptoms are secondary to degeneration in non-dopaminergic pathways.