Dataset Information

One Pass Thalamic and Subthalamic Stimulation for Patients with Tremor-Dominant Idiopathic Parkinson Syndrome (OPINION): Protocol for a Randomized, Active-Controlled, Double-Blinded Pilot Trial.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:Besides fluctuations, therapy refractory tremor is one of the main indications of deep brain stimulation (DBS) in patients with idiopathic Parkinson syndrome (IPS). Although thalamic DBS (ventral intermediate nucleus [Vim] of thalamus) has been shown to reduce tremor in 85-95% of patients, bradykinesia and rigidity often are not well controlled. The dentato-rubro-thalamic tract (DRT) that can directly be targeted with special diffusion tensor magnetic resonance imaging sequences has been shown as an efficient target for thalamic DBS. The subthalamic nucleus (STN) is typically chosen in younger patients as the target for dopamine-responsive motor symptoms. This study investigates a one-path thalamic (Vim/DRT) and subthalamic implantation of DBS electrodes and possibly a combined stimulation strategy for both target regions. OBJECTIVE:This study investigates a one path thalamic (Vim/DRT) and subthalamic implantation of DBS electrodes and a possibly combined stimulation strategy for both target regions. METHODS:This is a randomized, active-controlled, double-blinded (patient- and observer-blinded), monocentric trial with three treatments, three periods and six treatment sequences allocated according to a Williams design. Eighteen patients will undergo one-path thalamic (Vim/DRT) and STN implantation of DBS electrodes. After one month, a double-blinded and randomly-assigned stimulation of the thalamic target (Vim/DRT), the STN and a combined stimulation of both target regions will be performed for a period of three months each. The primary objective is to assess the quality of life obtained by the Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire (39 items) for each stimulation modality. Secondary objectives include tremor reduction (obtained by the Fahn-Tolosa-Marin tremor rating scale, video recordings, the Unified Parkinson's disease rating scale, and by tremor analysis), psychiatric assessment of patients, and to assess the safety of intervention. RESULTS:At the moment, the recruitment is stopped and 12 patients have been randomized and treated. A futility analysis is being carried out by means of a conditional power analysis. CONCLUSIONS:The approach of the OPINION trial planned to make, for the first time, a direct comparison of the different stimulation conditions (Vim/DRT, compared to STN, compared to Vim/DRT+STN) in a homogeneous patient population and, furthermore, will allow for intraindividual comparison of each condition with the "quality of life" outcome parameter. We hypothesize that the combined stimulation of the STN and the thalamic (Vim/DRT) target will be superior with respect to the patients' quality of life as compared to the singular stimulation of the individual target regions. If this holds true, this work might change the standardized treatment described in the previous section. TRIAL REGISTRATION:ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT02288468; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02288468 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/6wlKnt2pJ); and German Clinical Trials Register: DRKS00007526; https://www.drks.de/drks_ web/navigate.do?navigationId=trial.HTML&TRIAL_ID=DRKS00007526 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/6wlKyXZZL).

SUBMITTER: Reinacher PC

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5811645 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

One Pass Thalamic and Subthalamic Stimulation for Patients with Tremor-Dominant Idiopathic Parkinson Syndrome (OPINION): Protocol for a Randomized, Active-Controlled, Double-Blinded Pilot Trial.

Reinacher Peter Christoph PC Amtage Florian F Rijntjes Michel M Piroth Tobias T Prokop Thomas T Jenkner Carolin C Kätzler Jürgen J Coenen Volker Arnd VA

JMIR research protocols 20180130 1

<h4>Background</h4>Besides fluctuations, therapy refractory tremor is one of the main indications of deep brain stimulation (DBS) in patients with idiopathic Parkinson syndrome (IPS). Although thalamic DBS (ventral intermediate nucleus [Vim] of thalamus) has been shown to reduce tremor in 85-95% of patients, bradykinesia and rigidity often are not well controlled. The dentato-rubro-thalamic tract (DRT) that can directly be targeted with special diffusion tensor magnetic resonance imaging sequenc ...[more]

PMID: 29382631

Similar Datasets

Project description:ObjectiveObservational studies utilising diffusion tractography have suggested a common mechanism for tremor alleviation in deep brain stimulation for essential tremor: the decussating portion of the dentato-rubro-thalamic tract. We hypothesised that directional stimulation of the dentato-rubro-thalamic tract would result in greater tremor improvement compared to sham programming, as well as comparable improvement as more tedious standard-of-care programming.MethodsA prospective, blinded crossover trial was performed to assess the feasibility, safety and outcomes of programming based solely on dentato-rubro-thalamic tract anatomy. Using magnetic resonance imaging diffusion-tractography, the dentato-rubro-thalamic tract was identified and a connectivity-based treatment setting was derived by modelling a volume of tissue activated using directional current steering oriented towards the dentato-rubro-thalamic tract centre. A sham setting was created at approximately 180° opposite the connectivity-based treatment. Standard-of-care programming at 3 months was compared to connectivity-based treatment and sham settings that were blinded to the programmer. The primary outcome measure was percentage improvement in the Fahn-Tolosa-Marín tremor rating score compared to the preoperative baseline.ResultsAmong the six patients, tremor rating scores differed significantly among the three experimental conditions (P=0.030). The mean tremor rating score improvement was greater with the connectivity-based treatment settings (64.6% ± 14.3%) than with sham (44.8% ± 18.6%; P=0.031) and standard-of-care programming (50.7% ± 19.2%; P=0.062). The distance between the centre of the dentato-rubro-thalamic tract and the volume of tissue activated inversely correlated with the percentage improvement in the tremor rating score (R2=0.24; P=0.04). No significant adverse events were encountered.ConclusionsUsing a blinded, crossover trial design, we have shown the technical feasibility, safety and potential efficacy of connectivity-based stimulation settings in deep brain stimulation for treatment of essential tremor.

Project description:The ventral intermediate nucleus (VIM) of the thalamus is an established surgical target for stereotactic ablation and deep brain stimulation (DBS) in the treatment of tremor in Parkinson's disease (PD) and essential tremor (ET). It is centrally placed on a cerebello-thalamo-cortical network connecting the primary motor cortex, to the dentate nucleus of the contralateral cerebellum through the dentato-rubro-thalamic tract (DRT). The VIM is not readily visible on conventional MR imaging, so identifying the surgical target traditionally involved indirect targeting that relies on atlas-defined coordinates. Unfortunately, this approach does not fully account for individual variability and requires surgery to be performed with the patient awake to allow for intraoperative targeting confirmation. The aim of this study is to identify the VIM and the DRT using probabilistic tractography in patients that will undergo thalamic DBS for tremor. Four male patients with tremor dominant PD and five patients (three female) with ET underwent high angular resolution diffusion imaging (HARDI) (128 diffusion directions, 1.5 mm isotropic voxels and b value = 1500) preoperatively. Patients received VIM-DBS using an MR image guided and MR image verified approach with indirect targeting. Postoperatively, using parallel Graphical Processing Unit (GPU) processing, thalamic areas with the highest diffusion connectivity to the primary motor area (M1), supplementary motor area (SMA), primary sensory area (S1) and contralateral dentate nucleus were identified. Additionally, volume of tissue activation (VTA) corresponding to active DBS contacts were modelled. Response to treatment was defined as 40% reduction in the total Fahn-Tolosa-Martin Tremor Rating Score (FTMTRS) with DBS-ON, one year from surgery. Three out of nine patients had a suboptimal, long-term response to treatment. The segmented thalamic areas corresponded well to anatomically known counterparts in the ventrolateral (VL) and ventroposterior (VP) thalamus. The dentate-thalamic area, lay within the M1-thalamic area in a ventral and lateral location. Streamlines corresponding to the DRT connected M1 to the contralateral dentate nucleus via the dentate-thalamic area, clearly crossing the midline in the mesencephalon. Good response was seen when the active contact VTA was in the thalamic area with highest connectivity to the contralateral dentate nucleus. Non-responders had active contact VTAs outside the dentate-thalamic area. We conclude that probabilistic tractography techniques can be used to segment the VL and VP thalamus based on cortical and cerebellar connectivity. The thalamic area, best representing the VIM, is connected to the contralateral dentate cerebellar nucleus. Connectivity based segmentation of the VIM can be achieved in individual patients in a clinically feasible timescale, using HARDI and high performance computing with parallel GPU processing. This same technique can map out the DRT tract with clear mesencephalic crossing.

Project description:Ventral intermediate thalamic deep brain stimulation is a standard therapy for the treatment of medically refractory essential tremor and tremor-dominant Parkinson's disease. Despite the therapeutic benefits, the mechanisms of action are varied and complex, and the pathophysiology and genesis of tremor remain unsubstantiated. This intraoperative study investigated the effects of high frequency microstimulation on both neuronal firing and tremor suppression simultaneously. In each of nine essential tremor and two Parkinson's disease patients who underwent stereotactic neurosurgery, two closely spaced (600 µm) microelectrodes were advanced into the ventral intermediate nucleus. One microelectrode recorded action potential firing while the adjacent electrode delivered stimulation trains at 100 Hz and 200 Hz (2-5 s, 100 µA, 150 µs). A triaxial accelerometer was used to measure postural tremor of the contralateral hand. At 200 Hz, stimulation led to 68 ± 8% (P < 0.001) inhibition of neuronal firing and a 53 ± 5% (P < 0.001) reduction in tremor, while 100 Hz reduced firing by 26 ± 12% (not significant) with a 17 ± 6% (P < 0.05) tremor reduction. The degree of cell inhibition and tremor suppression were significantly correlated (P < 0.001). We also found that the most ventroposterior stimulation sites, closest to the border of the ventral caudal nucleus, had the best effect on tremor. Finally, prior to the inhibition of neuronal firing, microstimulation caused a transient driving of neuronal activity at stimulus onset (61% of sites), which gave rise to a tremor phase reset (73% of these sites). This was likely due to activation of the excitatory glutamatergic cortical and cerebellar afferents to the ventral intermediate nucleus. Temporal characteristics of the driving responses (duration, number of spikes, and onset latency) significantly differed between 100 Hz and 200 Hz stimulation trains. The subsequent inhibition of neuronal activity was likely due to synaptic fatigue. Thalamic neuronal inhibition seems necessary for tremor reduction and may function in effect as a thalamic filter to uncouple thalamo-cortical from cortico-spinal reflex loops. Additionally, our findings shed light on the gating properties of the ventral intermediate nucleus within the cerebello-thalamo-cortical tremor network, provide insight for the optimization of deep brain stimulation technologies, and may inform controlled clinical studies for assessing optimal target locations for the treatment of tremor.

Dataset Information

One Pass Thalamic and Subthalamic Stimulation for Patients with Tremor-Dominant Idiopathic Parkinson Syndrome (OPINION): Protocol for a Randomized, Active-Controlled, Double-Blinded Pilot Trial.

Publications

One Pass Thalamic and Subthalamic Stimulation for Patients with Tremor-Dominant Idiopathic Parkinson Syndrome (OPINION): Protocol for a Randomized, Active-Controlled, Double-Blinded Pilot Trial.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets