Square Biphasic Pulse Deep Brain Stimulation for Parkinson’s Disease: The BiP-PD Study

Congratulations Drs. Michael Okun, Kelly Foote, Jamie Roper, Chris Hass, Leili Shahgholi, Aparna Wagle Shukla, and Leonardo Almedia on the publication of “Square Biphasic Pulse Deep Brain Stimulation for Parkinson’s Disease: The BiP-PD Study,” which was published in the latest edition of Frontiers in Human Neuroscience.

 

Background

Conventional Parkinson’s disease (PD) deep brain stimulation (DBS) utilizes a pulse with an active phase and a passive charge-balancing phase. A pulse-shaping strategy that eliminates the passive phase may be a promising approach to addressing movement disorders.

Objectives

The current study assessed the safety and tolerability of square biphasic pulse shaping (sqBIP) DBS for use in PD.

Methods

This small pilot safety and tolerability study compared sqBiP versus conventional DBS. Nine were enrolled. The safety and tolerability were assessed over a 3-hour period on sqBiP. Friedman’s test compared blinded assessments at baseline, washout, and 30 minutes, 1h, 2h and 3h post sqBIP.

Results
Biphasic pulses were safe and well tolerated by all participants. SqBiP performed as well as conventional DBS without significant differences in motor scores nor accelerometer or gait measures.

Conclusion
Biphasic pulses were well-tolerated and provided similar benefit to conventional DBS. Further studies should address effectiveness of sqBIP in select PD patients.