Active electrode location does not influence weight gain after subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation surgery in Parkinson disease

Weight change (WC) is a well-recognized and poorly understood side effect of deep brain stimulation (DBS). The aim of our study was to determine the relationship between active electrode location in the subthalamic nucleus (STN) and post-DBS WC. This was a single center retrospective study of 82 patients who underwent STN DBS. Two weeks after surgery, a head CT was obtained and co-registered to the patient’s preoperative 3T MRI. The STN midpoint was identified, and the location of the active electrode was defined with respect to the STN midpoint in Talairach space. Least squares regression models were applied to evaluate the role of active electrode location on WC, as well as the relationships between WC and the explanatory variables sex, age, disease duration, change in levodopa equivalent dose (LED), change in MDS-UPDRS III scores, and change in dyskinesias before and after DBS. Active electrode contact location was not significantly associated with WC along any direction in either hemisphere. WC was significantly associated with change in dyskinesias (slope = -1.8 lbs/point, R 2 = 0.072, p = 0.025), but only in a univariate model. Our findings suggest that active electrode contact location does not influence WC after STN DBS.