Deep brain stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus is an effective treatment for advanced Parkinson's disease. The benefits of bilateral subthalamic stimulation are well documented, and some studies reported outcomes with a follow-up of 5 to 6 years; nevertheless, few data are available beyond 5 years. We report a long-term prospective evaluation of 14 consecutive parkinsonian patients, treated by bilateral subthalamic stimulation for at least 9 years. Motor symptoms, activity of daily living, and motor complications were evaluated by means of the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale, while cognition and mood were assessed with a specific neuropsychological test battery; medication intake, stimulation parameters, comorbidity, and adverse events were also recorded. Patients were evaluated before surgery and at 1, 5, and ≥ 9 years after surgery. At last follow-up, deep brain stimulation significantly improved the motor score by 42% compared to baseline, whereas activities of daily living were no longer improved; there was a 39% reduction in the dosage of dopaminergic drugs and a 59% improvement of L-dopa-related motor complications. The neuropsychological assessment showed that 4 patients (29%) developed a significant cognitive decline over the follow-up period. These results indicate a persistent effect of deep brain stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus on the cardinal motor symptoms in advanced Parkinson's disease patients in the long-term; however, a worsening of patients' disability, mainly due to disease progression, was observed.

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Duodenal infusion of levodopa/carbidopa gel (Duodopa) is an effective treatment option for advanced Parkinson's disease (PD). Long-term clinical experience up to 16 years suggests that the safety of this procedure is acceptable, while several observational studies showed that Duodopa reduces motor fluctuations and dyskinesias improving patients' quality of life (QoL). The aim of this study is to investigate the long-term motor and cognitive outcome of Duodopa treatment in advanced PD patients and its' impact on the QoL. Twenty-five consecutive PD patients were assessed using the Unified PD rating scale (UPDRS), a battery of neuropsychological tests, and the PD questionnaire (PDQ-39) at baseline and after a mean period of three years of Duodopa treatment. Seventeen out of 25 patients reached the follow-up evaluation; five patients discontinued Duodopa and three patients died of causes unrelated to drug infusion. Duodopa improved motor complications (UPDRS-IV) and quality of life (PDQ-39). A sub-group of subjects (41 %) developed a significant deterioration of cognitive functions over time. The most common adverse events were dislocation and the kinking of the intestinal tube. In conclusion, Duodopa therapy is effective in the long-term treatment of advanced PD patients. Continuous enteral levodopa infusion achieves a reduction of motor fluctuations and dyskinesias improving patients' QoL, despite the progression of PD motor symptoms and a significant decline in cognitive functions in a sub-group of patients.

In this series of STN-DBS treated patients, YOPD was associated with a medium to long term lower incidence of stimulation and medication resistant symptoms.

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