Activities of Daily Living vs.

Deep Brain Stimulation

Rachel Dubbs
Marriotts Ridge High School

What is Parkinsons Disease?

A chronic and progressive movement disorder
Occurs when there is a lack of dopamine in an area of the brain called

substantia nigra
Symptoms include:
Tremors (typically in hands, arms and/or legs)
Stiffness or rigidity
Impaired balance
Bradykinesia

Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS)

Small electrical signals are sent to an area in the brain that

blocks abnormal movement

Reduce tremors, dyskinesia, and stiffness
Mechanisms behind DBS are not fully understood
Most targeted patients are those experiencing dyskinesia

DBS continued
The extension- wire that connects the lead to the pacemaker
The pacemaker- surgically implanted near the collarbone area

and sends electrical impulses to the lead

The lead- inserted through a small

opening in the skull and is placed

in an area in the brain that controls movement
(typically thalamus, subthalamic nucleus
and globus pallidus)

Carbidopa-Levodopa
A combination of carbidopa and levodopa
Levodopa gets into brain and turns into dopamine
Carbidopa blocks nausea and vomiting
A regular and orally disintegrating tablet
Reduces PD symptoms:
Tremor
Stiffness
Slowness

Can cause dyskinesia

Activities of Daily Living (ADLs)

Describes how patients everyday life is affected by their

disorder
Affected speech
Difficulty swallowing
Handwriting is slow and/or illegible
Falling
Sensory impairment

Does DBS have an effect on

patients ADLs after their
procedure?

ADL

Possible Effects on ADLs with DBS

Time (years)

Patient 1

DOPA

350.00

Amount of DOPA

300.00

Before Slope: 2.4606

After Slope: 1.2435
Before y-int: 12.225
After y-int: 2.6145

250.00
200.00
150.00
100.00
50.00

14

-2.50

-2.00

-1.50

Time
(years)

-1.00

-0.50

14

12

12

10

10

-3.00

Time (years)

ADL

Before DBS

0.00
-3.00 -1.00 1.00 3.00 5.00 7.00 9.00 11.00 13.00

After DBS

0
0.00

0
0.00

2.00

4.00

6.00

Time
(years)

8.00

10.00

12.00

Patient 2

DOPA

2500

Before Slope:
-2.1757
After Slope:
0.8362
Before y-int:
9.5966
After y-int: 11.104

Amount of DOPA

2000
1500
1000
500

-2.00

-3.50

-3.00

-2.50

-2.00

Time (years)

2.00

4.00

30

30

25

25

20

20

-1.50

-1.00

8.00

10.00

12.00

15

10

10

0
-0.50

6.00

After DBS

Years

15

-4.00

0
0.00

ADL

Before DBS

-4.00

0
0.00

2.00

4.00

6.00

8.00

Time (years)

10.00

12.00

Patient 3

Before DBS

After DBS
12.000

25.000

10.000

20.000

8.000
15.000

4.000

2.000

-7.00

-6.00

-5.00

-4.00

Time
(years)

-3.00

-2.00

-1.00

0.000
0.00

ADL

6.000
10.000

5.000

0.000
0.00

1.00

2.00

Before Slope: -0.2617

After Slope: -0.0301
Before y-int: 7.9969
After y-int: 17.153

3.00

4.00

5.00

6.00

Time (years)

7.00

8.00

9.00

Overall Comparison
Before vs. After slope

Before vs. After intercept

25
3
2

20

1
15
0
-3

-2

-1

0
-1

3
10

-2
5
-3
-4

0
2

10

12

14

16

18

20

22

Conclusion
Overall before slope: 0.667
Over after slope: 1.103
The slope is basically unchanged. This shows that the
progression of the disease is the same over the years of
diagnosis.

Conclusion
Overall before y-int: 11.469
Overall after y-int: 9.847
The y-intercept has an average decrease of 1.622. This shows
there is sudden improvement in Activities of Daily Living after a
Parkinsons patient has received DBS.