Affiliations: Department of Neurology, University of Texas Medical School, Houston, Houston, TX, USA | Department of Psychiatry, Division of Neuropsychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA | Surgical Therapies Improving Movement Program, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA | Department of Neurosurgery, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA | Department of Neurology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
Note: [] Correspondence to: Kelvin L. Chou, MD, University of Michigan Medical School, 2301 Commonwealth Blvd., Ann Arbor, MI 48105-2945, USA. Tel.: +1 734 936 3087; Fax: +1 734 232 1170; E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract: Background: Little is known about caregiver burden in Parkinson disease (PD) patients undergoing brain stimulation (DBS) surgery. Objective: The aim of this exploratory analysis was to evaluate whether caregiver burden improves after bilateral subthalamic nucleus (STN) DBS for PD patients and identify baseline factors associated with caregiver burden. Methods: We analyzed the motor, cognitive and behavioral data of 12 PD patients (9 men/3 women) who underwent bilateral STN DBS and whose caregivers completed the Caregiver Burden Inventory (CBI) both before and approximately 6 months after bilateral STN DBS. Results: Total CBI score did not change from baseline (17.8 ± 10.7) to the 6 month evaluation (18.7 ± 13.1), despite a 29% improvement in the MDS-UPDRS motor score (baseline 40.3 ± 12.1 compared to 28.7 ± 8.4 at 6 months, p = 0.01). Change in total CBI score did not correlate with change in MDS-UPDRS Parts I–IV or MoCA from baseline to 6 months. In post-hoc analyses looking at baseline characteristics that may correlate with caregiver burden, only the disinhibition subscore on the Frontal Systems Behavioral Scale correlated positively with the baseline total CBI score (ρ = 0.763, p = 0.004). Conclusion: Caregiver burden for PD patients (as measured by the CBI) does not change 6 months after bilateral STN DBS, despite significant improvement in motor function. Only baseline behavioral problems, specifically disinhibition, correlated with higher baseline caregiver burden. Clinicians may need to better counsel patients on expectations for caregiver burden after DBS.
Keywords: Parkinson disease, caregiver burden, deep brain stimulation, subthalamic nucleus
