Bilateral globus pallidus internus (GPi) deep brain stimulation for cervical dystonia: Effects on motor and non-motor symptoms within 5 years follow.

BACKGROUND

Cervical Dystonia ("CD") is a movement disorder characterised by sustained muscle contractions in the neck, causing involuntary posturing. Deep brain stimulation ("DBS") of the globus pallidal internus (GPi) is advanced treatment for pharmaco-refractory patients. As CD is a rare disease, cohort studies are often limited to patients of heterogenous disease profile, small sample size or short follow-up. This study firstly aimed to measure the efficacy of GPi-DBS on motor and non-motor symptoms of CD. A secondary aim was to evaluate if clinical factors - such as age, disease duration and baseline disease severity - influence variability of motor outcomes.

METHODS

37 idiopathic CD patients were recruited from movement disorders clinics at The Walton NHS Foundation Trust, Liverpool, UK. Patients were assessed pre-operatively, and 1 year, 3 years and 5 years post-operatively with the following clinical scales: Toronto Western Spasmodic Torticollis Rating Scale ("TWSTRS"), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and EuroQuol-5D.

RESULTS

GPI-DBS significantly improved overall TWSTRS scores by 57% from baseline to 5Y FU (p < 0.001). It also significantly improved TWSTRS severity, disability, and pain sub-scores by 72%, 59% and 46% respectively. We did not find a significant improvement in mood or quality of life scores at 5 years. Similarly, clinical factors at baseline did not correlate with variability in motor outcome.

CONCLUSION

We concluded that GPi-DBS is an effective treatment for motor symptoms and pain in CD. There was limited effect on mood and QoL, and no clinical predictive factors of outcome were identified.