By: Grace Huff
A new study led by the Norman Fixel Institute for Neurological Diseases at UF Health has found that people with Parkinson’s disease (PD) who transition to device-aided therapies, such as deep brain stimulation (DBS) or carbidopa-levodopa enteral suspension (CLES), experience significantly greater improvements in quality of life compared to those continuing oral medications alone.
Published in npj Parkinson’s Disease, the large, real-world, retrospective study followed more than 600 people with PD for 12 months. Researchers compared patients who started device-aided therapy to those who remained on oral treatment, matching participants for demographics, disease stage, and therapy eligibility.
The results were clear: device-aided therapy patients reported substantially better outcomes on the Parkinson’s Disease Questionnaire (PDQ-39), a standard measure of health-related quality of life. Scores improved by 5 more points in the device-aided group than in the oral therapy group, a change considered clinically meaningful. They also showed greater improvement on the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) motor scores.
“Device-aided therapies can give people with advanced Parkinson’s a real boost in quality of life, and these results prove they work in everyday, real-world practice over the long term,” said Adolfo Ramirez-Zamora, MD, senior author of the study.
The study highlights the limitations of long-term oral levodopa therapy alone, which can become less effective over time as symptoms progress and complications such as motor fluctuations develop. Device-aided therapies, by delivering continuous and targeted symptom control, may help patients maintain independence and reduce symptom burden.
“When oral medications aren’t enough, the right device-aided therapy can help patients move better, feel better, and live better,” Ramirez-Zamora said.
The findings also underscore the value of early identification for advanced therapies. “The sooner we identify candidates for advanced therapies, the more we can help them maintain independence and daily function,” Ramirez-Zamora added.
The Fixel Institute is a national leader in advanced Parkinson’s care, providing comprehensive evaluations and access to state-of-the-art therapies for patients at all stages of disease.