Subthalamic deep brain stimulation in a case of idiopathic Parkinson's disease and schizophrenia

Introduction. Parkinson's disease (PD) and schizophrenia can coexist. Antipsychotics block striatal D2 receptors, which inevitably aggravates the manifestations of PD. Case report. We report the case of a male patient with idiopathic Parkinson's disease and schizophrenia, with poor tolerance to minimal doses of levodopa, who underwent a dramatic improvement after bilateral subthalamic deep brain stimulation (DBS-STN). DBS-STN was taken into consideration here, due to the severity of this particular case, as the only possible way to achieve motor improvement. Conclusions. The diagnosis of idiopathic PD was confirmed despite antidopaminergic treatment. DBS-STN can be considered a treatment option for disabling manifestations of PD, provided that a careful selection of patients is carried out.