A child is not a small adult: Complications in deep brain stimulation in children: Surgical safety and complications of deep brain stimulation for childhood dystonia.

Abstract

Editorial commentary on “Complications of Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) for dystonia in children – The Challenges and 10 year experience in a large paediatric cohort” by M. Kaminska et al. and “German registry of paediatric deep brain stimulation in patients with childhood-onset dystonia(GEPESTIM)” by A. Koy et al. German registry of paediatric deep brain stimulation in patients with childhood-onset dystonia (GEPESTIM)European Journal of Paediatric NeurologyVol. 21Issue 1PreviewData on paediatric deep brain stimulation (DBS) is limited, especially for long-term outcomes, because of small numbers in single center series and lack of systematic multi-center trials. Full-Text PDF Deep brain stimulation in cerebral palsy: Challenges and opportunitiesEuropean Journal of Paediatric NeurologyVol. 21Issue 1PreviewCerebral palsy (CP) is the most common cause for acquired dystonia in childhood. Pharmacological treatment is often unsatisfactory and side effects are frequently dose-limiting. Data on outcome of DBS in paediatric patients with dyskinetic CP is very limited and heterogeneous. Reasons for the variability in responses are not entirely known yet. Interestingly, some CP-patients seem to improve subjectively on pallidal stimulation but without measurable changes in impairment scales. Besides dystonia scales, the use of sensitive age-dependent assessments tools is therefore reasonable to capture the full effect. Full-Text PDF