Which symptoms of anxiety diminish after surgical interventions for Parkinson disease?

Objective: The purpose of the current study was to address whether improvem ent in anxious symptoms after surgical treatment of Parkinson disease (PD) reflects a true reduction in anxiety as opposed to an epiphenomenon of park insonian symptom amelioration. Background: Recent research suggests that an xiety is common in PD. An association between surgical intervention for PD and anxiety reduction has been reported; however, it is not clear which spe cific symptoms of anxiety improve. Method: Thirty-nine PD patients complete d the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) approximately 1 month before and 4 month s after surgery. Twenty-four participants underwent unilateral pallidotomy, 10 underwent deep brain stimulating electrode implantation of the internal segment of the globus pallidus, 4 underwent thalamic deep brain stimulatin g electrode implantation, and 1 underwent left thalamotomy. Results: Statis tically significant reductions were found postoperatively in terms of BAI t otal score as well as neurophysiologic, autonomic, and subjective factors f rom the BAI. The panic factor did not significantly change after surgery, p ossibly secondary to limited power afforded by the sample size. Conclusions : Results suggest that surgical intervention for PD is associated with redu ction in anxiety symptoms distinct from symptoms of PD. In other words, imp rovement in anxious symptoms reflects a true reduction in anxiety rather th an simply being an epiphenomenon of parkinsonian symptom amelioration.