Real-world multicenter assessment of sustained clinical outcomes after digital deep brain stimulation - Summary - MDSpire

Real-world multicenter assessment of sustained clinical outcomes after digital deep brain stimulation

  • By

  • Alireza Gharabaghi

  • Sergiu Groppa

  • Elena Casas

  • Alfons Schnitzler

  • Laura Muñoz-Delgado

  • Vicky L. Marshall

  • Jessica Karl

  • Lin Zhang

  • Ramiro Alvarez

  • Mary S. Feldman

  • Michael J. Soileau

  • Lan Luo

  • Benjamin L. Walter

  • Chengyuan Wu

  • Hong Lei

  • Damian M. Herz

  • Devyani Nanduri

  • Claudia A. Salazar

  • Corneliu Luca

  • Daniel Weiss

  • January 14, 2026

  • 0 min

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Objective:

To evaluate the long-term clinical effectiveness and safety of remote digital deep brain stimulation (DBS) programming compared to in-clinic follow-up in patients with Parkinson's disease, emphasizing the comparative aspect.

Key Findings:
  • Sustained clinical benefits and similar improvements in outcomes, quality of life, and safety across both remote and in-clinic groups at 6 and 12 months, with specific statistical significance noted.
  • Patient- and clinician-reported global improvement scores remained favorable over time with no significant between-group differences.
  • Quality of life improved in both groups, with significant longitudinal improvements in PDQ-39 Summary Index scores.
  • Motor function improved similarly in both groups, with no significant differences in MDS-UPDRS Part III scores.
Interpretation:

The findings support the ecological validity and scalability of remote DBS programming, demonstrating that it can achieve long-term outcomes comparable to traditional in-clinic care, with implications for broader clinical practice.

Limitations:
  • The observational phase did not preserve strict group separation, which may affect the interpretation of outcomes and introduce potential biases.
  • The study was not designed to demonstrate replacement of in-clinic care by remote programming.
Conclusion:

Remote DBS programming is a viable complementary option to in-clinic care, showing sustained benefits for patients with Parkinson's disease over the long term, highlighting the importance of patient choice in care models.

Original Source(s)

Real-world multicenter assessment of sustained clinical outcomes after digital deep brain stimulation

  • by Alireza Gharabaghi, Sergiu Groppa, Elena Casas, Alfons Schnitzler, Laura Muñoz-Delgado, Vicky L. Marshall, Jessica Karl, Lin Zhang, Ramiro Alvarez, Mary S. Feldman, Michael J. Soileau, Lan Luo, Benjamin L. Walter, Chengyuan Wu, Hong Lei, Damian M. Herz, Devyani Nanduri, Claudia A. Salazar, Corneliu Luca, Daniel Weiss

  • January 14, 2026

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