Pallidal deep brain stimulation improves quality of life in segmental and generalized dystonia: results from a prospective, randomized sham-controlled trial.

As part of the first randomized, sham-stimulation controlled trial on deep brain stimulation (DBS) in primary segmental or generalized dystonia, health-related quality of life (HRQoL) was assessed by SF-36. After the 3-month sham-controlled phase, significant HRQoL improvement occurred only in the active-stimulation group. The open-label extension phase resulted in a significant improvement in all SF-36 domains following 6 months of neurostimulation. These results demonstrate a favorable impact of DBS on HRQoL in primary dystonia.