Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2025 Apr 30:16:1449973.
doi: 10.3389/fneur.2025.1449973. eCollection 2025.

Ameliorating motor performance and quality of life in Parkinson's disease: a comparison of deep brain stimulation and focused ultrasound surgery

Mingqian Liang  1 , Le Hou  2 , Jinjun Liang  3 , Shengyong Bao  1
Affiliations
Review

Ameliorating motor performance and quality of life in Parkinson's disease: a comparison of deep brain stimulation and focused ultrasound surgery

Mingqian Liang et al. Front Neurol. .

Abstract

Introduction: Deep brain stimulation (DBS) and magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound surgery (MRgFUS) have emerged as valuable treatment options for Parkinson's disease (PD) with drug-resistant symptoms. However, comparative studies of various DBS targets and MRgFUS are still limited.

Methods: We reviewed three databases for trials on the effects of DBS or MRgFUS on PD patients, focusing on motor performance and quality of life (QoL). A frequentist network meta-analysis was conducted to estimate the treatment effects.

Results: There were 39 trials in this study, comprising 3,002 patients. In the off-phase, subthalamic nucleus_DBS (STN_DBS [SMD, -0.94; 95%CI, -1.40 to -0.48]) significantly improved the UPDRS-III Total score compared to medication treatment alone (MT). In the on-phase, STN_DBS (SMD, -0.83; 95%CI, -1.13 to -0.53), internal globus pallidus_DBS (GPi_DBS [SMD, -0.80; 95%CI, -1.20 to -0.40]), and STN_Focused Ultrasound (STN_FUS [SMD, -1.83; 95%CI, -2.97 to -0.68]) significantly improved the UPDRS-III Total score. Regarding QoL, STN_DBS (SMD, -0.75; 95% CI, -1.46 to -0.05) and GPi_DBS (SMD, -0.58; 95% CI, -0.96 to -0.21) demonstrated better outcomes compared to MT. The SUCRA plot indicated that the top three treatments for UPDRS-III Total score in the off-phase were STN_FUS (79.6%), STN-GPi_DBS (73.7%), and STN_DBS (69.1%). In the on-phase, the top three treatments were STN_FUS (95.7%), STN_DBS (69.6%), and GPi_DBS (66.9%). Regarding QoL, GPi_DBS (77.2%) ranks first, followed by STN_DBS (67.3%), STN_FUS (56.9%) ranks third.

Conclusion: STN_DBS, GPi_DBS, and STN_FUS have exhibited efficacy in ameliorating motor performance and enhancing QoL in PD patients. Nevertheless, as a potential alternative to STN_DBS with comparable efficacy, STN-FUS may serve as another treatment option.

Keywords: Parkinson’s disease; deep brain stimulation; magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound surgery; network meta-analysis; quality of life.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow diagram.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Network plots of each evaluation. (A) UPDRS-III Total score (off-phase); (B) UPDRS-III Total score (on-phase); (C) QoL. DBS, deep brain stimulation; FUS, focused ultrasound surgery; STN, subthalamic nucleus; Gpi, internal globus pallidus; cZi, caudal zona incerta; NBM, nucleus basalis of Meynert; SNr, substantia nigra pars reticulata; VIM, ventral intermediate nucleus; MT, medication treatment.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Funnel plots of each evaluation. (A) UPDRS-III Total score (off-phase); (B) UPDRS-III Total score (on-phase); (C) QoL.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Risk of bias assessment. (A) Risk of bias graph; (B) Risk of bias summary.
Figure 5
Figure 5
League tables of the NMA outcome. (A) UPDRS-III (off-phase); (B) UPDRS-III (on-phase); (C) QoL.
Figure 6
Figure 6
SUCRA Plots of each evaluation. (A) UPDRS-III Total score (off-phase); (B) UPDRS-III Total score (on-phase); (C) QoL.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

References

    1. Postuma RB, Berg D, Stern M, Poewe W, Olanow CW, Oertel W, et al. . MDS clinical diagnostic criteria for Parkinson’s disease. Mov Disord. (2015) 30:1591–601. doi: 10.1002/mds.26424, PMID: - DOI - PubMed
    1. Belarbi K, Cuvelier E, Bonte M-A, Desplanque M, Gressier B, Devos D, et al. . Glycosphingolipids and neuroinflammation in Parkinson’s disease. Mol Neurodegener. (2020) 15:59. doi: 10.1186/s13024-020-00408-1, PMID: - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Dorsey ER, Bloem BR. The Parkinson Pandemic-A Call to Action. JAMA Neurol. (2018) 75:9–10. doi: 10.1001/jamaneurol.2017.3299, PMID: - DOI - PubMed
    1. Mao Q, Qin WZ, Zhang A, Ye N. Recent advances in dopaminergic strategies for the treatment of Parkinson's disease. Acta Pharmacol Sin. (2020) 41:471–82. doi: 10.1038/s41401-020-0365-y, PMID: - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Hariz M, Blomstedt P. Deep brain stimulation for Parkinson's disease. J Intern Med. (2022) 292:764–78. doi: 10.1111/joim.13541, PMID: - DOI - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources