| Completed suicides | Attempted suicides | |||||
| Patient No 1 | Patient No 2 | Patient No 3 | Patient No 4 | Patient No 5 | Patient No 6 | |
| Sex | M | F | F | M | M | F |
| Age at DBS (y) | 67 | 55 | 58 | 50 | 65 | 69 |
| PD duration at DBS (y) | 8 | 11 | 8 | 14 | 10 | 19 |
| UPDRS III (score) off medication: pre-DBS/post-DBS, on stimulation (% reduction)* | 33/23 (30) | 80/24 (70) | 37/19 (49) | 58/16 (72) | 66/26 (61) | 67/23 (66) |
| Levodopa equivalent daily dosage (mg): pre-DBS/post-DBS (% reduction)* | 2400/455 (81) | 1960/0 (100) | 1400/300 (79) | 1280/1040 (19) | 5130/1375 (73) | 970/350 (64) |
| Parameters of stimulation* | ||||||
| Contact (right/left) | 2/6 | 2/7 | 3/6 | 3/6 | 2/6 | 2/6 |
| Voltage (V, right/left) | 2.8/2.1 | 2.8/2.2 | 2.8/3.4 | 1.8/2.0 | 4.1/4.4 | 2.1/2.3 |
| Frequency (Hz, right/left) | 160/160 | 160/160 | 130/130 | 130/130 | 150/150 | 130/130 |
| Pulse width (µs, right/left) | 90/90 | 90/120 | 90/90 | 90/90 | 90/90 | 90/90 |
| Time between DBS and suicidal behaviour (months) | 5 | 24 | 14 | 6 | 15 | 8 |
| Pre-DBS psychiatric features | – | Personality disorder, depression, delusions | – | – | Pathological gambling, hypersexuality, paedophilia | Depression, hallucinations on dopaminergic agonists |
| Family history | PD, suicides | PD | – | – | – | – |
| Pre-DBS suicide attempts | No | Yes (n = 1) | No | No | No | Yes (n = 2) |
| Psychiatric features at time of suicide | – | Depression, delusions | Depression, delusions | – | Depression | Depression |
| Setting/apparent trigger | Home,/mild annoyance | Hospital (left surreptitiously)/none | Hospital/none | Home/familial conflict | Home/prosecution in paedophilia case | Home/marital conflict |
| Method of suicide | Drowning | Drowning | Attempted defenestration | Alcohol and drug overdose | Alcohol and drug overdose | Drug overdose |
*Post-DBS data from the last evaluation before suicide.
DBS, deep brain stimulation; PD, Parkinson’s disease; UPDRS III, Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale, part III (motor examination).