Deep Brain Stimulation to Treat Alzheimers Disease John
Deep Brain Stimulation to Treat Alzheimer's Disease John Paquet III BME 181 S 01 04 March 2013
What is Alzheimer’s Disease? Deteriorates memory, cognition, and behavioral abilities Progressively worsens with age Memory loss, difficulty sleeping, uncontrollable behavior, confusion Cannot be cured, prevented, or slowed
Alzheimer’s Facts (2012) Affects 5. 4 million people in US 6 th leading cause of death in US 3 rd costliest disease in US for healthcare costs
What is Deep Brain Stimulation?
Target Areas for Alzheimer’s Fornix ◦ Memory Frontal lobe ◦ Behavior and cognition Junctions of cognition, behavior, and memory pathways ◦ To reduce impact of plaques
Results Few tests thus far, but promising results Find certain letters/shapes among many on paper ◦ With pacemaker off, found a couple ◦ After period of constant stimulation, found 30 Pilot trial of 6 patients in Canada ◦ After year of continuous stimulation: improved memory Significantly more brain activity
Risks/Disadvantages Normal risks of brain surgery Complications if parts break or move around Dizziness, speech or vision issues, others ◦ Potentially reversible Treatment of AD with DBS may cost $50 -100 k for insurance ◦ May come down by time treatment is available
Hope Current drugs have been ineffective DBS could help people with early-stage or mild AD ◦ Much of connectivity remains Potential for reviving circuitry in the brain provides hope amidst the Alzheimer’s epidemic
References Alzheimer's Association. 2012 Alzheimer's disease facts and figures. Alzheimer's and Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer's Association. March 2012; 8: 131– 168. “Alzheimer’s disease. ” A. D. A. M. Medical Encyclopedia. U. S. National Library of Medicine, 26 Sept. 2011 <http: //www. ncbi. nlm. nih. gov/pubmedhealth/PMH 0001767/> “Deep Brain Stimulation. ” CNS Diseases. 2013 <http: //cnsdiseases. com/deep-brain-stimulation> “Deep brain stimulation. ” Medline. Plus Medical Encyclopedia. U. S National Library of Medicine. U. S. National Library of Medicine, 27 Feb. 2013 <http: //www. nlm. nih. gov/medlineplus/ency/article/007453. htm> “Deep brain stimulation. ” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 03 Jan. 2013 http: //en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Deep_brain_stimulation> “Electric brain stimulation may treat Alzheimer's. ” CBSNews. CBS Interactive, 21 Jan. 2013 <http: //www. cbsnews. com/ 8301 -204_162 -57564987/electric-brain-stimulation-may-treat-alzheimers/> “Ohio State Implants First Brain Pacemaker To Treat Alzheimer's. ” The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, 22 Jan. 2013 <http: //medicalcenter. osu. edu/mediaroom/releases/Pages/Ohio-State-Implants -First-Brain-Pacemaker-To-Treat-Alzheimer's. aspx> “Pacemaker-like device studied in Alzheimer's treatment. ” CBSNews. CBS Interactive, 6 Dec. 2012 <http: //www. cbsnews. com/ video/watch/? id=50136498 n>
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