Prefrontal Cortex Can Be Safely Biopsied During Deep Brain Stimulation

WEDNESDAY, Sept. 3, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Obtaining a prefrontal cortex (PFC) biopsy during deep brain stimulation (DBS) procedures is safe, according to a study published online Sept. 3 in Neurosurgery.

Sema Akkus, M.D., from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City, and colleagues developed a method to biopsy a small volume of PFC tissue during DBS lead placement procedures. Following 1,152 DBS procedures performed on 590 patients, acute adverse events (i.e., infection, intracranial hemorrhage [ICH], and seizures) were tracked to examine the safety of PFC biopsy. A PFC biopsy was obtained in 652 procedures, and no biopsy was obtained in 500 (biopsy group and nonbiopsy group). For 144 patients, cognitive health was assessed at baseline and one year after DBS procedures.

The researchers found no infections in either group. No significant difference was seen between the groups in the rate of ICH (1.7 versus 1.4 percent in the biopsy and nonbiopsy groups, respectively); this observation persisted regardless of the anatomical location or the clinical severity of ICH. There was no significant difference seen between the groups in the seizure rate (0.2 versus 0.4 percent for the biopsy and nonbiopsy groups, respectively). There were no significant associations noted between the number of biopsies and changes in cognitive health over time.

“The retrospective safety analysis clearly demonstrates that there are safe and innovative ways of involving neurosurgical patients in research activities that have the potential to greatly advance science,” co-lead author Brian Koppel, M.D., also from the Icahn School of Medicine, said in a statement.

One author serves as a consultant for Medtronic, Abbott Neuromodulation, and Turing Medical.

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