Deep brain stimulation ‘can aid treatment of Alzheimer’s’

A new small-scale study has demonstrated potential promise in the use of deep brain stimulation techniques among people with suspected mild Alzheimer's disease.

Research carried out at the University of Toronto has suggested that this mode of therapy – currently used among sufferers of Parkinson's disease and depression – can help stimulate neuronal activity in specific regions of the brain designated for memory.

After one month and one year, patients implanted with deep brain stimulation devices were shown to experience sustained increases in glucose metabolism – an indicator of neuronal activity – that were higher than those seen among patients receiving marketed drug therapies.

Dr Gwenn Smith, a professor in the department of psychiatry and behavioural sciences at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, said the six-person trial was conducted primarily to establish safety and needs to be recreated on a larger scale before any conclusions can be drawn.

"We don't have another treatment for Alzheimer's disease at present that shows such promising effects on brain function," she explained.

This comes after a recent study from the Brigham and Women's Hospital showed that eating certain types of berries can help stave off age-related memory degradation among women.