Overview

• Published September 3 in Neurosurgery, the analysis reviewed 1,152 DBS lead placements from 2013 to 2024 at Mount Sinai, with biopsies in 652 procedures and none in 500.
• No infections were reported in either group, and rates of intracranial hemorrhage (1.7% vs. 1.4%; p=0.88) and seizures (0.2% vs. 0.4%; p=0.82) did not differ significantly.
• Among 144 patients assessed at baseline and about one year, the number of biopsies was not associated with declines in cognitive performance.
• Measured samples were small and consistent in 231 biopsies, with a mean volume of 40 mm3 and a median of 30 mm3, indicating a reproducible protocol.
• All procedures were performed by a single neurosurgeon at one hospital and authors disclosed relevant industry consultancies, reinforcing the call for prospective, multicenter validation to broaden adoption and advance research using living human brain tissue.