Evaluation of quality of life in Parkinson disease treatment

There is little information on the efficacy of various surgical interventions in terms of health-related quality of life in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients. Most studies evaluated only motor symptoms of PD after surgical treatment avoiding subjective patient's assessment. The goal of this study is the assessment of surgical treatment of PD on quality of life using Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire (PDQ-39). To 134 patients PDQ-39 questionnaires were send, 91 of them responded. Among 91 patients 32 underwent unilateral thalamotomy, 38 unilateral pallidotomy and 21 bilateral staged pallidotomy. The patients were assessed at baseline and 3 to 6 months after surgery. The PDQ-39 recorded significant improvement in mobility, activity of daily living and stigma in thalamotomy and pallidotomy group. The most striking improvement was noticed in bilateral pallidotomy group. After bilateral pallidotomy improvement was noticed in mobility, ADL, emotional well being, stigma and bodily discomfort. Our results indicate that quality of life in PD patients after surgical treatment is measurable according to PDQ-39 and the most benefit is noted in patients who underwent bilateral staged pallidotomy.