On the basis of more than hundred publications on the long- lasting benefits of deep brain stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus it is clear that this method is a reliable and valid therapeutic tool to treat the core symptoms of idiopathic Parkinson's disease. Both the subthalamic nucleus and internal pallidum DBS alleviate off motor symptoms and dyskinesias, with a superiority of subthalamic nucleus over globus pallidus internus DBS because of its antiakinetic effect, a greater reduction of medication, and less energy consumption. However, despite the rapidly increasing practice of DBS, few control clinical trials have addressed important issues such as patients selection, time of operation, targets and guidelines during postoperative care. Complications are mostly dependend on surgical experience. Recent data report 0 % death or permanent deficit, 1.15 % intracranial haemorrhage, 2.5 % infections required systems removal, 3,37 % required implantable pulse generator removal, 12,5 % had misplaced leads, and 26,2 % hardware problems. Postmortem studies showed mild gliosis and no tissue damage.

The mechanisms of DBS still needs to be solved, some hypotheses will be presented.