Decision under risk: Argument against early deep brain stimulation in Parkinson's disease

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) typically has been delayed until late stage of Parkinson's disease (PD), a mean of 14–15 years after diagnosis. EARLYSTIM study applied DBS in patients with PD presenting motor complications for less than three years, and showed that early stimulation offered greater benefit than best medical therapy in all primary and major secondary end points. Based on the results of EARLYSTIM study, the U.S. Food and Drug...