Freezing of gait in subthalamic deep brain stimulation for Parkinsons disease: A pilot study on safety and tolerability of variable versus low frequencies stimulation

Background and aims: Low frequency (LS) subthalamic deep brain stimulation (STN-DBS) may have a benefit on Parkinson's disease (PD) axial sings, especially on freezing of gait (FOG). However, this benefit seems to not be maintained over time. Phenomena of neuronal adaptation could be related to the development of this tolerance. The aim of this study is to verify the safety and tolerability of variable frequency (VF) versus LFS among PD patients with severe FOG.