Guest: Matthew B. Stern, MD

Host: Jennifer Shu, MD, FAAP


Medication and physical therapy have been mainstay treatments for controlling neurologic symptoms associated with Parkinson's disease. One strategy for mitigating the characteristic tremors, rigidity and slow movement has focused on deep brain stimulation (DBS). What are the risks and benefits of this surgical intervention, when is it indicated, and how does it compare with medical treatment for Parkinson's? Host Dr. Jennifer Shu welcomes Dr. Matthew Stern, the Parker Family Professor of Neurology and director of the Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders Center at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, to explore DBS and its indication for your patients with Parkinson's disease. Dr. Stern also offers his view on the question of whether DBS could eventually be considered for treatment much earlier in the disease's progression, or potentially as a first-line therapy for patients with Parkinson's.