A multicenter phase 2 study showed that some patients with mild Alzheimer's disease (AD) who received deep brain stimulation of the fornix (DBS-f) experienced an increase in cerebral glucose metabolism, and some patients experienced a slowing of cognitive decline.
These positive effects were seen only in patients aged 65 years and older, not in younger patients.
Nevertheless, the findings are encouraging, said lead researcher Andres Lozano, MD, PhD, professor and chairman, Department of Neurosurgery, University of Toronto, Canada.
"These findings indicate that we are headed in the right direction with our research on DBS as a treatment of Alzheimer's disease. In AD, certain areas of the brain shut down and no longer metabolize glucose to the normal level, and we hope that by stimulating the circuits in the brain that are involved, that we can restore function within the fornix and that that in turn will lead to improvement in the signs and symptoms of Alzheimer's," Dr Lozano told Medscape Medical News.
The study was published online July 18 in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease.
http://content.iospress.com/articles/journal-of-alzheimers-disease/jad160017
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