A Small Clinical Trial of Transcranial Electromagnetic Stimulation Shows Benefits in Alzheimer ' s Patients

Researchers here report on a small clinical trial of a form of electromagnetic stimulation, claiming reduction in amyloid burden and improvement in cognitive function in Alzheimer's patients. Other approaches to electromagnetic stimulation have been tested in human trials for Alzheimer's disease and failed; the authors here argue that the details of the methodology used matter greatly. It is not unreasonable to expect electromagnetic fields to have effects on cellular metabolism, and there are a range of efforts to try to affect everything from neurodegeneration to wound healing via this class of approach. There is always the question of mechanisms, however: determining how exactly it might be working to affect amyloid levels and cellular behavior, after an effect is confirmed, is a challenging task. In view of the inability of drugs to slow or reverse the cognitive impairment of Alzheimer's disease (AD) thus far, investigating non-pharmaceutic interventions against AD as a possible alternative is now clearly warranted. Neuromodulatory approaches have consequently emerged and are currently being clinically tested in AD subjects. These approaches include transcranial magnetic stimulation (tMS), transcranial direct current stimulation, and deep brain stimulation. All three approaches provide a generalized stimulatory/inhibitory effect on neuronal activity. The most recent and largest clinical studies involving long-term tMS (Phase III clinical trial) or deep brain stim...
Source: Fight Aging! - Category: Research Authors: Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs