Marta Villadóniga Zambrano

Dr. Marta Villadóniga Zambrano


Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

5Years (2022-Present)

(Calculated once Scilit publication data is synced: current year − year of first publication + 1)

Representative Publications

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18 April 2022 in Journal of Clinical Medicine
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Journal Article
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MZMarta Villadóniga Zambrano
Marta Villadóniga Zambrano
Lidia Cabañes-MartínezLidia Cabañes-Martínez
Lidia Cabañes-Martínez
LLLaura López-Viñas
Laura López-Viñas
SFSamira Fanjul
Samira Fanjul
MÁMarta Del Álamo
Marta Del Álamo
IBIgnacio Regidor Bailly-Bailliere
Ignacio Regidor Bailly-Bailliere
Deep brain stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus is efficient for the treatment of motor symptoms (i.e., tremors) in patients with Parkinson’s disease. Gait disorders usually appear during advanced stages of idiopathic Parkinson’s disease in up to 80% of patients and have an important impact on their quality of life. The effects of deep brain stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus on gait and balance are still controversial. For this reason, alternative targets have been considered, such as stimulation of the pedunculopontine nucleus and the pars reticulata of substantia nigra, involved in the integration of the functional connections for gait. Due to the proximity of the subthalamic nucleus to the substantia nigra, their combined stimulation is feasible and may lead to better outcomes, improving axial symptoms. Our objective was to prospectively compare simultaneous stimulation of both structures versus conventional subthalamic stimulation in improving gait disorders. In ten patients with advanced Parkinson’s disease, deep brain stimulation leads (eight linear contacts) were implanted, and gait analysis was performed 6 months after surgery in off-stimulation and after 4 weeks of dual or single subthalamic stimulation. An improvement in gait parameters was confirmed with both stimulation conditions, with better results with combined substantia nigra and subthalamic stimulation compared with conventional subthalamic stimulation. Further studies are needed to determine if this effect remains after long-term dual-target stimulation.