To cite this article: Neuro Endocrinol Lett 2007; 28(1):21–25 ORIGINAL ARTICLE Neuroendocrinology Letters Volume 28 No. 1 2007 Increase in body weight is a non-motor side effect of deep brain stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus in Parkinson’s disease Lucie Novakova, Evzen Ruzicka, Robert Jech, T ereza Serranova, Petr Dusek & Dusan Urgosik Movement Disorders Center, Dept. of Neurology, Charles University, Dept. of Stereotactic and Radiation Neurosurgery, Na Homolce Hospital, Prague, Czech Republic Correspondence to: Prof. Evzen Ruzicka, MD., DSc. Dept. of Neurology, Charles University in Prague Katerinska 30, 120 00 Praha, Czech Republic PHONE: +420-224965550 EMAIL : eruzi@lf1.cuni.cz Submitted: December 20, 2006 Accepted: January 12, 2007 Key words: Parkinson’s disease; deep brain stimulation; subthalamic nucleus; weight gain; hypothalamus Neuroendocrinol Lett 2007; 28(1):21–25 PMID: 17277730 NEL280107A05 © 2007 Neuroendocrinology Letters www.nel.edu Abstract Deep brain stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus (DBS STN) is an effective treat- ment method in advanced Parkinson’s disease (PD) providing marked improvement of its major motor symptoms. In addition, non-motor effects have been reported including weight gain in PD patients after DBS STN. Using retrospective survey, we aimed to evaluate weight changes in our patients with advanced PD treated with DBS STN. We inquired 25 PD patients (16 men, 9 women), of mean age 55 (42–65) years, mean PD duration 15 (9–21) years, who previously received bilateral DBS STN. We obtained valid data from 23 patients. In the first survey, 1 to 45 months after DBS, weight gain was found in all patients comparing to pre-DBS period. The mean increase was 9.4 kg (from 1 to 25 kg). The patients’ mean body mass index (BMI) increased from 23.7 to 27.0 kg/m 2 , i.e. by 3.3 kg/m 2 (+2 to +6.1 kg/m 2 ). In the repeated survey one year later, in 12 of the patients body weight moderately decreased, 3 did not change, and 6 patients further increased their weight. Possible explanations of body weight gain after DBS STN include a reduction of energy out- put related to elimination of dyskinesias, improved alimentation or direct influence on function of lateral hypothalamus by DBS STN. Abbreviations DBS STN - Deep Brain Stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus PD - Parkinson’s disease BMI - Body Mass Index UPDRS - Unified Parkinson Disease Rating Scale MDS - Movement Disorder Society LEDD - Levodopa Equivalent Daily Dose Introduction Bilateral deep brain stimulation of the sub- thalamic nucleus (DBS STN) is an effective treat- ment method for selected patients with advanced Parkinson’s disease (PD), who can not be optimally controlled by pharmacotherapy. DBS is performed using a stimulating electrode stereotactically im- planted into an exactly defined target within the brain, and connected to a stimulator generating high-frequency electrical pulses. It has been sug-