Not every patient with Parkinson's disease will be a candidate for deep brain stimulation. First of all, older patients and those with significant medical comorbidities may not be able to tolerate the surgery without unacceptable risk to their health. Also patients with dementia or significant cognitive deficits are not good candidates.

Patients who are not getting adequate control of their symptoms with medical management, or those who suffer from significant medication side effects, however may benefit greatly from deep brain stimulation. DBS has been shown to improve a wide variety of physical symptoms of PD as well an improve patients ability to perform activities of daily living.

Additionally it has been demonstrated to significantly increase the percentage of time patients spend in a mobile state while decreasing time spent immobile or suffering from dyskinesias. It has been estimated that approximately 20% of patients with Parkinson's disease could benefit from DBS.

In properly selected patients, DBS can greatly improve quality of life. Side effects, if any, are usually transient and can be eliminated with adjustment of stimulation parameters.