Bonn Lee, Shiraz Ahmad, Charlotte E Edling, Hugh R Matthews, Christopher L-H Huang, Fiona En LeBeau, Kamalan Jeevaratnam
{"title":"In situ exogenous alpha-synuclein aggregates inhibit murine ventricular voltage-gated inward sodium and outward potassium currents.","authors":"Bonn Lee, Shiraz Ahmad, Charlotte E Edling, Hugh R Matthews, Christopher L-H Huang, Fiona En LeBeau, Kamalan Jeevaratnam","doi":"10.1177/1877718X251365239","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/1877718X251365239","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>BackgroundAlpha-synuclein is associated with neurodegeneration in Parkinson's disease (PD). Recent studies have increasingly recognized incidences of cardiac complaints in PD patients. In particular, the occurrence of arrhythmias in PD patients may indicate potential electrophysiological alterations in the heart. Alpha-synuclein aggregates have been known to have disruptive effects on cell membranes. However, the effect of alpha-synuclein on the heart and sympathetic neuronal tissues remains unknown.ObjectiveThis study investigated the electrophysiological effects of alpha-synuclein aggregates in myocardium and cardiac sympathetic nervous system, potentially reflecting cardiac electrophysiological alteration in PD.MethodsWe measured the <i>in situ</i> sodium and potassium currents from murine ventricular myocardium and stellate ganglia using the loose patch clamp technique. The tissues were exposed to bioactive alpha-synuclein aggregates, and currents were measured under three different conditions: baseline, alpha-synuclein treatment, and wash out.ResultsThe experiments showed that alpha-synuclein aggregates altered the maximum cardiac sodium current (<i>I</i><sub>Na(Max)</sub>) (ANOVA, p < 0.008) and affected its gating properties for channel activation (ANOVA <i>F</i><sub>2,54</sub> = 6.408, <i>p</i> = 0.003) and inactivation (<i>F</i><sub>2, 67</sub> = 6.32, <i>p</i> = 0.003). The alpha-synuclein aggregates also reduced the maximum outward potassium current (<i>I</i><sub>K(Max)</sub>) during channel activation (<i>F</i><sub>2, 77</sub> = 6.02, <i>p</i> = 0.002). However, the alpha-synuclein aggregates did not affect the ionic currents in the stellate ganglia.ConclusionsOur results demonstrate that extracellular alpha-synuclein aggregates can inhibit ventricular but not stellate ganglion ionic currents, suggesting a differential sensitivity between the myocardium and the stellate ganglia, and indicating a cardiac-specific toxicity of alpha-synuclein on cardiac electrophysiology.</p>","PeriodicalId":16660,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Parkinson's disease","volume":" ","pages":"1877718X251365239"},"PeriodicalIF":5.0,"publicationDate":"2025-08-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144958057","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
In Hee Kwak, Hyeo-Il Ma, Yun Joong Kim, Hye-Mi Noh, Jeongjae Lee, Je Kook Yu, Young Eun Kim
{"title":"Peripheral inflammatory markers and clinical phenotypes reflecting the impact of diabetes on Parkinson's disease.","authors":"In Hee Kwak, Hyeo-Il Ma, Yun Joong Kim, Hye-Mi Noh, Jeongjae Lee, Je Kook Yu, Young Eun Kim","doi":"10.1177/1877718X251372392","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/1877718X251372392","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>BackgroundType 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) can influence the phenotype and progression of Parkinson's disease (PD), as both conditions share inflammation as a common pathogenic mechanism.ObjectiveTo explore peripheral inflammatory indices that reflect the impact of DM on PD.MethodsWe analyzed 52 drug-naïve PD patients with DM and 182 without DM, along with age- and sex-matched healthy control (HC) with and without DM in a 1:1 ratio. Clinical features were evaluated, including the Hoehn and Yahr (H&Y) scale and the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS). Peripheral inflammatory markers included the count of leukocyte subpopulations, high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C), and markers derived from these including neutrophil-to-HDL-C ratio (NHR), monocyte-to-HDL-C ratio (MHR), and lymphocyte-to-HDL-C ratio (LHR).ResultsThere were no significant differences in age, sex, or disease duration between PD with DM and PD without DM group. The PD with DM group showed more symmetric motor features (<i>p</i> <i>=</i> 0.007) compared to the PD without DM group. NHR, MHR, and LHR were elevated in the PD with DM group compared to the other groups. Notably, MHR was highest in the PD with DM group, followed by the HC with DM group and the PD without DM group, and HC without DM group (9.73 vs. 8.30 vs. 7.63 vs. 6.46, <i>p</i> <i><</i> 0.001). MHR positively correlated with clinical scales, including H&Y and UPDRS, across all PD patients (<i>p</i> < 0.05 for all).ConclusionsOur study suggests that MHR effectively reflects the peripheral inflammatory status related to both PD and diabetes.</p>","PeriodicalId":16660,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Parkinson's disease","volume":" ","pages":"1877718X251372392"},"PeriodicalIF":5.0,"publicationDate":"2025-08-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144958135","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Kevin McFarthing, Tiago Fleming Outeiro, Maria Carmo Bastos
{"title":"What medicines do people with Parkinson's disease want?","authors":"Kevin McFarthing, Tiago Fleming Outeiro, Maria Carmo Bastos","doi":"10.1177/1877718X251366032","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/1877718X251366032","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Parkinson's disease (PD) is a heterogeneous condition that presents variable clinical, neuropathological, and biomarker features. Disease progression can also vary significantly. It is essential to consider this heterogeneity when considering the medicines that people with Parkinson's (PwP) want. Potential PD medicines may be classed as disease modifying (DMT) or symptomatic (ST). The ultimate hope of PwP is that, sooner rather than later, the core of the PD pharmacopeia will provide personalised cocktails of drugs that not only deliver motor and non-motor symptom relief, but also slow, stop and then reverse disease progression. Generally, PwP are less interested in the scientific details, they are more focused on maintaining or improving quality of life. For those people at risk of PD, diagnosis in the pre-motor stage may herald the introduction of new medicines that arrest the progress of the disease before symptoms are manifest. One way to understand the medicines that PwP want is to ask which symptoms are the most bothersome, and target them accordingly. In practice, medicines that present optimal efficacy and convenience, at an affordable price, will be more likely to be accepted. Interactions between researchers and PwP should be encouraged in order to deepen the understanding of each other's needs and motivations. Finally, it is important to remember that PwP are individuals with emotions and concerns. As such, moderation in the communication of prognosis and of the potential of new medicines is essential, so that PwP can maintain hope rather than being misled by hype.</p>","PeriodicalId":16660,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Parkinson's disease","volume":" ","pages":"1877718X251366032"},"PeriodicalIF":5.0,"publicationDate":"2025-08-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144958132","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Do we need drugs for psychiatric symptoms specifically for Parkinson's disease?","authors":"Kelly A Mills, Gregory M Pontone","doi":"10.1177/1877718X251370970","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/1877718X251370970","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Although the need for better medications for the treatment of psychiatric symptoms in people with Parkinson's disease (PWP) is not disputed, the approach and targets for these medications needs further attention. Psychiatric symptoms occur at higher prevalence in PWP-many start in the prodromal phase of the disease-and have complex associations and interactions with the motor symptoms and their treatments, begging the question of whether they may be mechanistically connected. In this manuscript, we review the current evidence for pharmacologic treatments of psychiatric symptoms in PWP and explore the potential next steps needed to develop new medications for psychiatric symptoms in PD.</p>","PeriodicalId":16660,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Parkinson's disease","volume":" ","pages":"1877718X251370970"},"PeriodicalIF":5.0,"publicationDate":"2025-08-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144958034","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Simon Ulvenes Kverneng, Sepideh Mostafavi, Yana Mikhaleva, Gard Aasmund Skulstad Johanson, Haakon Berven, Katarina Lundervold, Geir Olve Skeie, Erika Sheard, Mona Søgnen, Solveig Af Geijerstam, Therese Vetås, Michele Brischigliaro, Erika Fernandez-Vizarra, Yamila N Torres Cleuren, Christian Dölle, Charalampos Tzoulis
{"title":"Platelet mitochondrial complex I and IV activities are not reliable stratification biomarkers in Parkinson's disease.","authors":"Simon Ulvenes Kverneng, Sepideh Mostafavi, Yana Mikhaleva, Gard Aasmund Skulstad Johanson, Haakon Berven, Katarina Lundervold, Geir Olve Skeie, Erika Sheard, Mona Søgnen, Solveig Af Geijerstam, Therese Vetås, Michele Brischigliaro, Erika Fernandez-Vizarra, Yamila N Torres Cleuren, Christian Dölle, Charalampos Tzoulis","doi":"10.1177/1877718X251365253","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/1877718X251365253","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>BackgroundMitochondrial dysfunction, particularly complex I (CI) deficiency, is considered an integral feature of Parkinson's disease (PD). However, recent findings indicate that widespread neuronal CI deficiency in the brain is only present in a subpopulation of 20-30% of cases. This stratification may be relevant for selecting participants for clinical trials, emphasizing the need for clinically applicable biomarkers. We previously reported CI deficiency in skeletal muscle biopsies of a subpopulation of persons with PD (PwPs), suggesting potential for mitochondrial stratification using extra-neural tissues. Platelets are another tissue previously reported to exhibit mitochondrial respiratory defects in PD. However, studies have generally involved small sample sizes and reported variable results.ObjectiveTo determine whether platelets exhibit impaired mitochondrial respiratory chain complex activity in PwPs, or in a subpopulation of PwPs.MethodsUsing spectrophotometric activity assays, we assessed CI and complex IV (CIV) activities in platelet samples from 61 PwPs and 31 neurologically healthy controls from a well-characterized prospective cohort. The correlation between activities measured in platelets and skeletal muscle was also explored in 51 of the same individuals.ResultsPlatelet CI and CIV activities showed no difference between PwPs and controls at the group level, nor evidence of a subgroup with deficiency of either complex. There was no correlation between complex activities in platelet samples and skeletal muscle biopsies from the same individuals.ConclusionsBased on these results, we propose that platelet CI or CIV activities are not sensitive markers of mitochondrial dysfunction in PD.</p>","PeriodicalId":16660,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Parkinson's disease","volume":" ","pages":"1877718X251365253"},"PeriodicalIF":5.0,"publicationDate":"2025-08-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144847096","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Michiel van Lier, Guillaume Carey, Romain Viard, Mark L Kuijf, Amée F Wolters, Kathy Dujardin, Albert Fg Leentjens
{"title":"Cortical thickness alterations in Parkinson's disease related anxiety: A cross-sectional 7 T MRI study.","authors":"Michiel van Lier, Guillaume Carey, Romain Viard, Mark L Kuijf, Amée F Wolters, Kathy Dujardin, Albert Fg Leentjens","doi":"10.1177/1877718X251367302","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/1877718X251367302","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>BackgroundAnxiety is a common non-motor symptom in Parkinson's disease (PD) and has previously been associated with changes in cortical thickness of various brain regions.ObjectiveTo identify changes in cortical thickness in PD-related anxiety.Methods148 patients from an ongoing cohort study were included: 30 PD patients with anxiety, 73 PD patients without anxiety and 45 healthy controls. Anxiety was measured with the Parkinson Anxiety Scale (PAS). A 7 T structural MRI scan was performed and used to compare cortical thickness between these groups. Region of interest (ROI) as well as whole-brain analyses were performed to identify differences.ResultsROI analyses revealed a strong negative association between the cortical thickness of the left lingual gyrus and the severity of anxiety in PD patients (R = -0.71; p = 0.006). Additional significant strong negative associations with the severity of anxiety in PD patients were observed in the frontal and cingulate regions (R between -0.56 and -0.65). Whole-brain analysis revealed a significant cluster of cortical thinning in the left anterior cortex and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex weakly associated with PAS total score across all groups (R = -0.25, p = 0.00201).ConclusionsThis study is the first to report a strong negative association between left lingual gyrus thickness and anxiety severity in PD. Additionally, anxiety in early PD is associated with cortical thinning in the fronto-cingulate region, mainly affecting left sided structures. Future studies should examine whether these cortical changes can predict the anxiety progression patterns or the treatment response in PD patients.</p>","PeriodicalId":16660,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Parkinson's disease","volume":" ","pages":"1877718X251367302"},"PeriodicalIF":5.0,"publicationDate":"2025-08-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144821665","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Hae-Ryong Yun, Nak-Hoon Son, Hee Byung Koh, Seok Jong Chung
{"title":"Body mass index, metabolically abnormal status, and incident Parkinson's disease: Data from the UK Biobank.","authors":"Hae-Ryong Yun, Nak-Hoon Son, Hee Byung Koh, Seok Jong Chung","doi":"10.1177/1877718X251367305","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/1877718X251367305","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>BackgroundThe association between body mass index (BMI), metabolic conditions, and incident Parkinson's disease (PD) is quite complex.ObjectiveTo investigate the relationship between these variables, particularly the impact of metabolically healthy overweight/obese on the risk of PD, in the general population.MethodsA total of 402,059 participants from the UK Biobank were categorized into four phenotypes according to the presence of overweight/obesity and/or metabolically abnormal status: overweight/obesity was defined as BMI ≥25 kg/m<sup>2</sup>; metabolically abnormal status was defined as having one or more metabolic risk factors including elevated blood pressure, fasting glucose, or triglyceride level, or reduced high-density lipoprotein cholesterol level. Cox proportional hazard regression analyses using four different models were performed to compare the risk of developing PD among the four BMI-metabolic status phenotypes.ResultsDuring the median follow-up of 13.5 years, 2283 (0.6%) patients were newly diagnosed with PD. Cox regression models demonstrated that individuals with overweight/obesity and those with metabolic abnormalities were at a higher risk of developing PD than their counterparts. Compared with the metabolically healthy non-overweight group (reference group), the two metabolically abnormal groups (either overweight/obese or non-overweight) showed a higher incidence of PD. The metabolically healthy overweight/obese group exhibited a comparable risk of developing PD to the metabolically healthy non-overweight group.ConclusionsThis study demonstrated that metabolically abnormal conditions are more relevant to incident PD than overweight/obesity. In particular, a metabolically healthy overweight/obese status does not increase the risk of developing PD compared with a metabolically healthy non-overweight status.</p>","PeriodicalId":16660,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Parkinson's disease","volume":" ","pages":"1877718X251367305"},"PeriodicalIF":5.0,"publicationDate":"2025-08-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144821664","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jordan L Schultz, Phillip E Gander, Craig D Workman, Laura L Boles Ponto, Stephen Cross, Christopher S Nance, Christopher L Groth, Eric B Taylor, Sarah E Ernst, Jia Xu, Ergun Y Uc, Vincent A Magnotta, Michael J Welsh, Nandakumar S Narayanan
{"title":"A dose-finding study shows terazosin enhanced energy metabolism in neurologically healthy adults.","authors":"Jordan L Schultz, Phillip E Gander, Craig D Workman, Laura L Boles Ponto, Stephen Cross, Christopher S Nance, Christopher L Groth, Eric B Taylor, Sarah E Ernst, Jia Xu, Ergun Y Uc, Vincent A Magnotta, Michael J Welsh, Nandakumar S Narayanan","doi":"10.1177/1877718X251356503","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/1877718X251356503","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>BackgroundParkinson's disease (PD) is a common neurodegenerative disease lacking treatments that modify progressive neuron loss. Terazosin (TZ) increases activity of the glycolytic enzyme phosphoglycerate kinase 1 and could potentially benefit impaired brain bioenergetics in PD. Preclinical data are encouraging, but we lack human data on relationships between TZ dose and measures of TZ target engagement in women and men.ObjectiveThis study evaluated the dose-dependent effects of TZ on brain and systemic bioenergetics and safety and tolerability in neurologically healthy older adults.MethodsWe administered TZ (1, 5, and 10 mg/day) to 18 neurologically healthy 60-85-year-old people. We measured plasma and cerebrospinal fluid TZ concentrations and changes in levels of whole blood ATP, brain ATP with <sup>31</sup>P magnetic resonance spectroscopy, cerebral metabolic activity with <sup>18</sup>F-FDG PET imaging, and plasma metabolomics. We also assayed tolerability and safety.ResultsTZ crossed the blood-brain barrier, and 5 mg/day increased whole blood ATP and decreased brain <sup>18</sup>F-FDG uptake. TZ 1 mg/day lacked significant effects, and 10 mg/day did not produce additional metabolic benefit compared to 5 mg/day. These effects were similar for both sexes. Mild dizziness occurred in 3 females and 1 male.ConclusionsThese findings in humans align with results from preclinical cell, animal, and epidemiological studies. Our data show that TZ increases markers of energy metabolism with a biphasic dose-response and suggest that 5 mg/day TZ may provide maximal benefit while minimizing adverse consequences of higher doses. These results lay groundwork for clinical trials in people with PD.</p>","PeriodicalId":16660,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Parkinson's disease","volume":" ","pages":"1877718X251356503"},"PeriodicalIF":5.0,"publicationDate":"2025-08-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144816968","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Can regulators have a role in facilitating the development of new medicines for Parkinson's disease?","authors":"Mário Miguel Rosa, Ewa Balkowiec-Iskra","doi":"10.1177/1877718X251360584","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/1877718X251360584","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most frequent neurodegenerative disorder, and its prevalence has doubled in the past 25 years. New formulations of levodopa have recently been marketed that improved the ability to treat PD, but in the European Union, no new active substance for PD has been marketed since 2015, whilst two new agents have been marketed elsewhere. In spite of being the most treatable neurodegenerative disorder, several unmet medical needs still exists in PD, and efforts both from researchers, drug developers and regulators are needed to facilitate further developments in the field. There are several reasons that may account for the lack of new treatments for PD. Regulatory agencies provide scientific advice and have developed several programs to foster drug development. This manuscript discusses the main obstacles identified in the development process, the present status of approvals in European Union and the United States, and the presently available mechanisms to optimize drug development and marketing.</p>","PeriodicalId":16660,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Parkinson's disease","volume":" ","pages":"1877718X251360584"},"PeriodicalIF":5.0,"publicationDate":"2025-08-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144794786","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Bo Tan, Tao Chen, Peng Guo, Peng Song, Feng Lin, Shuangyin He, Sihui Sun, Xiang Wang, Jiangshan He, Xiaohong Yin
{"title":"DBS-STN&SNr combined stimulation versus DBS-STN monotarget stimulation for Parkinson's disease freezing: A comparative efficacy study.","authors":"Bo Tan, Tao Chen, Peng Guo, Peng Song, Feng Lin, Shuangyin He, Sihui Sun, Xiang Wang, Jiangshan He, Xiaohong Yin","doi":"10.1177/1877718X251359241","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/1877718X251359241","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>BackgroundFreezing of gait (FOG) is a common and disabling symptom in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD), significantly impairing motor function and quality of life. While traditional deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the subthalamic nucleus (STN) provides some benefits, its efficacy in alleviating FOG remains limited. Combined stimulation of the STN and the substantia nigra pars reticulata (SNr) has recently emerged as a potentially superior approach.ObjectiveTo compare the efficacy of STN-only stimulation and combined STN + SNr stimulation in improving FOG symptoms and quality of life in patients with PD.MethodsThis multicenter, prospective, randomized, crossover study was conducted between May 2020 and May 2024 and enrolled patients with PD and significant FOG. All participants received bilateral DBS electrode implantation. Each subject sequentially underwent both STN-only and combined STN + SNr stimulation conditions according to a randomized crossover schedule, with each stimulation period lasting for six months. Outcome assessments, including the Freezing of Gait Questionnaire (FOG-Q) and the Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire Summary Index (PDQ-SI), were conducted at baseline, 6, 12, and 18 months. Data were analyzed using mixed-model repeated-measures analysis of variance, followed by post hoc Bonferroni-adjusted pairwise comparisons to account for the crossover design.ResultsCompared to STN-only stimulation, combined STN + SNr stimulation resulted in significantly greater improvement in FOG-Q scores and PDQ-SI scores. The benefits were observed at each assessment following the switch to combined stimulation.ConclusionsCombined STN and SNr stimulation was more effective than STN-only stimulation in alleviating FOG symptoms and improving quality of life in patients with PD. This dual-target DBS approach may represent a promising therapeutic strategy for managing refractory FOG in PD.</p>","PeriodicalId":16660,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Parkinson's disease","volume":" ","pages":"1877718X251359241"},"PeriodicalIF":5.0,"publicationDate":"2025-08-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144784504","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}