Clinically Meaningful Cognitive Improvement from Intermittent Neurostimulation of the Nucleus Basalis of Meynert in Parkinson's Disease

Intermittent neurostimulation of the nucleus basalis of Meynert (NBM) alongside continuous subthalamic nucleus (STN) DBS produced clinically meaningful cognitive improvements in 5 Parkinson’s disease patients after 6 months.

• Why it matters: Cognitive decline in Parkinson’s disease begins early and is largely untreated, while NBM and its lateral efferent fibers degenerate and are linked to cognitive and cognitive-motor impairment.
• What they did: In an ongoing trial, 5 patients with Parkinson’s disease and cognitive impairment received continuous high-frequency STN DBS 24 hours/day plus intermittent patterned NBM DBS 1 hour/day, with NBM leads targeted via vertical or lateral trajectories and programmed using Illumina 3D VTA modeling.
• The result: After 6 months, all five participants showed clinically meaningful cognitive gains on a neuropsychological assessment battery, alongside expected motor benefits from STN DBS, supporting feasibility of this combined approach.

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