Abstract
Investigational use of deep brain stimulation for Alzheimer's disease has arrived in the United States. As a part of a new multicenter trial, the ADvance Study, funded by the National Institute on Aging and Functional Neuromodulation, Johns Hopkins University neurosurgeons recently implanted the first device into a patient with mild Alzheimer's disease. Via two implanted ultra-thin wires, the device delivers 4-8 V electrical charges directly to the fornix on both sides of the brain. One of the first to be destroyed by Alzheimer's, the brain region relays signals between the hippocampus and hypothalamus. About 40 patients are expected to receive the deep brain stimulation implant over the next year or so at Johns Hopkins, Toronto Western Hospital, the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, the University of Florida, Gainesville, and Banner Alzheimer's Institute in Phoenix. Half of the patients in the study will have the devices activated 2 weeks after surgery, while the others will have the device turned on after 1 year. All study participants will be regularly assessed for at least 18 months to measure their rate of Alzheimer's progression. As part of a preliminary safety study in 2010, the devices were implanted in six Alzheimer's disease patients at the University of Toronto. Researchers found that patients with mild forms of the disorder showed sustained increases in glucose metabolism, an indicator of neuronal activity, over a 13-month period (Ann. Neurol. 2010;68:521-34). Most Alzheimer's disease patients show decreases in glucose metabolism during such a timespan.
Published Version (
Free)
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call