Objective Freezing of gait (FOG) significantly affects quality of life and increases the risk of falls in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD). Although deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the globus pallidus interna (GPi) is effective in managing motor complications, its efficacy in treating FOG remains inconsistent. This study aimed to determine whether preoperative structural brain connectivity can predict both the presence of FOG and its postoperative improvement following GPi DBS.
Methods We retrospectively analyzed 58 patients with PD who underwent GPi DBS. Preoperative diffusion tensor imaging was used to assess structural connectivity between the volume of activated tissue (VAT) and 82 cortical regions. Machine learning models were developed to predict baseline FOG and postoperative FOG improvement (defined as a ≥1- or ≥2-point reduction) using demographic and connectivity features.
Results Machine learning models incorporating structural connectivity features between the VAT and cortical regions—including the prefrontal, cingulate, and premotor cortices—outperformed models based solely on demographic variables in predicting both the presence of preoperative FOG and postoperative improvement. For example, the support vector machine model to predict FOG improvement (≥1-point improvement) achieved an accuracy of 0.65 with demographic data alone, which increased to 0.77 with the addition of structural connectivity features. Similar performance enhancements were observed in sensitivity analyses using stricter FOG thresholds (≥2-point improvement).
Conclusion Preoperative structural connectivity between the GPi and key cortical regions involved in cognitive control and motor planning predicts FOG responsiveness to DBS. These results highlight the utility of connectomic biomarkers for personalizing DBS strategies and optimizing therapeutic outcomes in patients with advanced PD.
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Objective Depression in Parkinson’s disease (PD) affects the quality of life of patients. Postural instability and gait disturbance are associated with the severity and prognosis of PD. We investigated the association of depression with axial involvement in early-stage PD patients.
Methods This study involved 95 PD patients unexposed to antiparkinsonian drugs. After a baseline assessment for depression, the subjects were divided into a depressed PD group and a nondepressed PD group. Analyses were conducted to identify an association of depression at baseline with the following outcome variables: the progression to Hoehn and Yahr scale (H-Y) stage 3, the occurrence of freezing of gait (FOG), levodopa-induced dyskinesia, and wearing-off. The follow-up period was 53.40 ± 16.79 months from baseline.
Results Kaplan–Meier survival curves for H-Y stage 3 and FOG showed more prominent progression to H-Y stage 3 and occurrences of FOG in the depressed PD group than in the nondepressed PD group (log-rank p = 0.025 and 0.003, respectively). Depression in drug-naïve, early-stage PD patients showed a significant association with the progression to H-Y stage 3 (hazard ratio = 2.55; 95% confidence interval = 1.32–4.93; p = 0.005), as analyzed by Cox regression analyses. In contrast, the occurrence of levodopa-induced dyskinesia and wearing-off did not differ between the two groups (log-rank p = 0.903 and 0.351, respectively).
Conclusion Depression in drug-naïve, early-stage PD patients is associated with an earlier occurrence of postural instability. This suggests shared nondopaminergic pathogenic mechanisms and potentially enables the prediction of early development of postural instability.
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Objective Ample evidence has suggested that age at onset of Parkinson’s disease (PD) is associated with heterogeneous clinical features in individuals. We hypothesized that this may be attributed to different patterns of nigrostriatal dopamine loss.
Methods A total of 205 consecutive patients with de novo PD who underwent 18F-FP-CIT PET scans (mean follow-up duration, 6.31 years) were divided into three tertile groups according to their age at onset of parkinsonian motor symptoms. Striatal dopamine transporter (DAT) availability was compared between the old- (n = 73) and young-onset (n = 66) groups. In addition, the risk of developing freezing of gait (FOG) and longitudinal requirements for dopaminergic medications were examined.
Results The old-onset PD group (mean age at onset, 72.66 years) exhibited more severe parkinsonian motor signs than the young-onset group (52.58 years), despite comparable DAT availability in the posterior putamen; moreover, the old-onset group exhibited more severely decreased DAT availability in the caudate than the young-onset group. A Cox regression model revealed that the old-onset PD group had a higher risk for developing FOG than the young-onset group [hazard ratio 2.523, 95% confidence interval (1.239–5.140)]. The old-onset group required higher doses of dopaminergic medications for symptom control than the young-onset group over time.
Conclusion The present study demonstrated that the old-onset PD group exhibited more severe dopamine loss in the caudate and were more likely to develop gait freezing, suggesting that age at onset may be one of the major determinants of the pattern of striatal dopamine depletion and progression of gait disturbance in PD.
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