Advancing AD Treatment with DBS

Photo: ibmphoto24 / flickr / cc by-nc-nd

• AD stands for 'Alzheimer's Disease'
  • A progressive, degenerative disorder
• DBS stands for 'Deep Brain Stimulation'
  • Implanted neurostimulator that delivers electrical signals
  • Helping to regulate abnormal AD signals
• Study considered safety, efficacy, tolerability of DBS
  • Neurosurgeons demonstrated the safety of DBS in treating AD
    • No, neurological deficits or mortality, reported
    • Adverse effects, ex. headache/infection, in 11.9%
• Involved 42 patients, at six US/Canada hospitals
• Next steps: to study DBS efficacy and longer-term safety
• Note: DBS is currently being looked at to treat
  • Epilepsy (a neurological disorder)
    • Sensory disturbance, loss of consciousness, convulsions
  • Depression (a mental illness)
    • Pervasive and persistent low mood, self-esteem
  • Bipolar disorder (a mental illness)
    • Mental illness, severe high and low moods changes
  • Published in the Journal of Neurosurgery