Brain pacemakers for Alzheimer's?

Can a so-called brain pacemaker help people battle debilitating Alzheimer's Disease? Researchers have started trials on such a deep brain stimulation device. Scientists at Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center started using the implant on their first patient Kathy Sanford last October, Singularity Hub reported. "Prior to the surgery Sanford had been diagnosed with mild Alzheimer’s, and her symptoms were progressively getting worse. But after five months of continuous stimulation from the brain pacemaker her performance on cognitive tests have vastly improved. It’s still too early to know if the effects will last, but the doctors are hopeful," it said. So far, doctors have not reported any adverse side effects from Sanford’s treatment. The trial is to conclude in 2015, by which time up to 10 Alzheimer’s patients will have received the brain pacemaker. Some 35 million people worldwide suffer from Alzheimer’s disease. About five million of those are in the United States where one in eight Americans over the age of 65, and about half over 85, has Alzheimer’s. Dr. Ali Rezai, a neurosurgeon and co-leader of the study, said the pacemaker sends tiny signals into the brain that regulate the abnormal activity of the brain and normalize it. Rezai also said the brain pacemaker could also one day help alleviate symptoms of other chronic brain disorders such as obsessive compulsive disorder, depression, chronic pain, and migraines. “Right now, from what we’re seeing in our first patient, I think the results are encouraging, but this is research. We need to do more research to understand what’s going on,” Rezai said. Major surgery On the other hand, implanting the brain pacemaker involves major surgery. Two stimulating electrodes are inserted through holes drilled into the skull. A battery pack is implanted beneath the skin near the collarbone to power the electrodes via wires that run up the neck and beneath the scalp. Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is widely used to alleviate the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease and other disorders that interfere with movement. While up to 100,000 people have DBS implants for movement disorders, Sanford is the first person to receive a permanent implant for Alzheimer’s. The current study continues the work begun by Dr. Andres Lozano, who in 2003 discovered the potential DBS held for Alzheimer’s patients. While treating a patient with obesity, he found stimulating the fornix, a major nerve tract of the brain that connects to the hypothalamus – a key regulator of appetite, Lozano thought normalizing its activity through electrical shocks would suppress the patient’s appetite. But the fornix also connects to the hippocampus, the memory center of the brain. Unexpectedly, the stimulation caused the patient’s memory to improve. Last May, Lozano was involved in a phase I study to test the safety of DBS as a treatment for Alzheimer’s disease, one hallmark of which is the decreased activity of neurons in affected brain areas such as the hippocampus and other areas of the temporal lobe. The study showed a metabolic increase of 15 to 20 percent over the course of a year of stimulation. The increase is greater than that which normally results from drug treatments. Also, the patients showed improvements in memory, cognitive abilities, and quality of life overall. — LBG, GMA News