scholarly journals Effect of Transcranial Brain Stimulation for the Treatment of Alzheimer Disease: A Review

2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raffaele Nardone ◽  
Jürgen Bergmann ◽  
Monica Christova ◽  
Francesca Caleri ◽  
Frediano Tezzon ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer Disease ◽  
Brain Stimulation ◽  
Cognitive Rehabilitation ◽  
Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation ◽  
Pharmacological Treatments ◽  
Noninvasive Methods ◽  
Functional Changes ◽  
Beneficial Effects ◽  
Limited Effectiveness ◽  
Transcranial Brain Stimulation

Available pharmacological treatments for Alzheimer disease (AD) have limited effectiveness, are expensive, and sometimes induce side effects. Therefore, alternative or complementary adjuvant therapeutic strategies have gained increasing attention. The development of novel noninvasive methods of brain stimulation has increased the interest in neuromodulatory techniques as potential therapeutic tool for cognitive rehabilitation in AD. In particular, repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) are noninvasive approaches that induce prolonged functional changes in the cerebral cortex. Several studies have begun to therapeutically use rTMS or tDCS to improve cognitive performances in patients with AD. However, most of them induced short-duration beneficial effects and were not adequately powered to establish evidence for therapeutic efficacy. Therefore, TMS and tDCS approaches, seeking to enhance cognitive function, have to be considered still very preliminary. In future studies, multiple rTMS or tDCS sessions might also interact, and metaplasticity effects could affect the outcome.

scholarly journals Role of neurorehabilitative treatment using transcranial magnetic stimulation in disorders of consciousness

2021 ◽  
Vol 49 (2) ◽  
pp. 030006052097647
Author(s):  
Caterina Formica ◽  
Simona De Salvo ◽  
Francesco Corallo ◽  
Antonella Alagna ◽  
Anna Lisa Logiudice ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation ◽  
Cognitive Rehabilitation ◽  
Magnetic Stimulation ◽  
Brain Injuries ◽  
Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation ◽  
Disorders Of Consciousness ◽  
Therapeutic Effects ◽  
Functional Changes ◽  
Severe Acquired Brain Injury ◽  
Scale Scores

Disorders of consciousness (DOC) result from brain injuries that cause functional changes in vigilance, awareness and behaviour. It is important to correctly diagnose DOC so that the most appropriate rehabilitation treatments can be initiated. Several studies in DOC patients have demonstrated that repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) has an important role to play in the recovery of consciousness as highlighted by monitoring clinical scale scores. Although studies indicate that rTMS can be used to aid recovery, it is not combined with other rehabilitative cognitive treatments. As of December 2018, there have been no studies published that combined DOC cognitive rehabilitation with TMS. This current review describes the use of rTMS as a form of non-invasive brain stimulation, as distinct from its use as a tool to investigate residual cortical activity, in terms of its possible therapeutic effects including cognitive rehabilitation. Literature searches were undertaken to identify all relevant studies. The available evidence suggests that rTMS may have an important role to play in in monitoring brain function during recovery and making other intensive rehabilitation treatments more effective, such as sensorial stimulations and cognitive training in patients after a severe acquired brain injury. Further research is required to establish the usefulness of rTMS treatment in DOC rehabilitation.

Enhancement of neuroplasticity by cortical stimulation

2015 ◽  
pp. 174-192
Author(s):  
Orlando Swayne ◽  
John Rothwell
Keyword(s):  
Brain Stimulation ◽  
Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation ◽  
Cortical Stimulation ◽  
Low Frequencies ◽  
High Frequencies ◽  
Beneficial Effects ◽  
Non Invasive ◽  
Healthy Humans ◽  
Motor Cortex Excitability ◽  
Cathodal Stimulation

There is evidence that behavioural gains made by patients undergoing neurorehabilitation depend at least in part on training-induced synaptic plasticity. Non-invasive cortical stimulation induces changes in synaptic strength in healthy humans which outlast the period of stimulation, and therefore may interact with and potentially enhance the process of rehabilitation in patients. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation can reduce motor cortex excitability at low frequencies or increase it at high frequencies. Anodal transcranial direct current stimulation can increase excitability while cathodal stimulation can reduce it.. Brain stimulation has mainly been examined in patients with stroke, aiming to increase excitability in the stroke hemisphere or reduce it in the contralesional hemisphere. Beneficial effects have been reported but it has proved difficult to reproduce results with greater numbers. This likely reflects a lack of understanding of stimulation mechanisms, high response variability with current protocols, and the diversity of protocols tested.These issues must be resolved before brain stimulation can enter clinical practice.

Augmentation Strategies for Clozapine-Resistant Patients with Schizophrenia

2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 218-227
Author(s):  
Yi-Hang Chiu ◽  
Chia-Yueh Hsu ◽  
Mong-Liang Lu ◽  
Chun-Hsin Chen
Keyword(s):  
Sample Size ◽  
Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation ◽  
Mood Stabilizers ◽  
Treatment Resistant ◽  
Double Blind ◽  
Beneficial Effects ◽  
Augmentation Strategies ◽  
Pubmed Database ◽  
Augmentation Strategy ◽  
Larger Sample

Background: Clozapine has been used in treatment-resistant patients with schizophrenia. However, only 40% of patients with treatment-resistant schizophrenia have response to clozapine. Many augmentation strategies have been proposed to treat those clozapine-resistant patients, but the results are inconclusive. In this review, we intended to review papers dealing with the augmentation strategies in the treatment of clozapineresistant patients with schizophrenia. Method: We reviewed randomized, double-blind, placebo- or sham-controlled trials (RCT) for clozapine-resistant patients with schizophrenia in Embase, PsycINFO, Cochrane, and PubMed database from January 1990 to June 2019. Results: Antipsychotics, antidepressants, mood stabilizers, brain stimulation, such as electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) and repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation, and other strategies, were used as an augmentation in clozapine-resistant patients with schizophrenia. Except for better evidence in memantine with 2 RCTs and cognitive behavior therapy in 2 studies to support its effectiveness, we found that all the other effective augmentations, including sulpiride, ziprasidone, duloxetine, mirtazapine, ECT, sodium benzoate, ginkgo biloba, and minocycline, had only one RCT with limited sample size. Conclusion: In this review, no definite effective augmentation strategy was found for clozapine-resistant patients. Some potential strategies with beneficial effects on psychopathology need further studies with a larger sample size to support their efficacy.

scholarly journals Ultramicronized Palmitoylethanolamide (um-PEA): A New Possible Adjuvant Treatment in COVID-19 patients

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 336
Author(s):  
Annalisa Noce ◽  
Maria Albanese ◽  
Giulia Marrone ◽  
Manuela Di Lauro ◽  
Anna Pietroboni Zaitseva ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Adjuvant Treatment ◽  
Pulmonary Involvement ◽  
In Vivo Studies ◽  
Pharmacological Treatments ◽  
Beneficial Effects ◽  
Coronavirus Infection ◽  
Ultramicronized Palmitoylethanolamide ◽  
Potential Use

The Coronavirus Disease-19 (COVID-19) pandemic has caused more than 100,000,000 cases of coronavirus infection in the world in just a year, of which there were 2 million deaths. Its clinical picture is characterized by pulmonary involvement that culminates, in the most severe cases, in acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). However, COVID-19 affects other organs and systems, including cardiovascular, urinary, gastrointestinal, and nervous systems. Currently, unique-drug therapy is not supported by international guidelines. In this context, it is important to resort to adjuvant therapies in combination with traditional pharmacological treatments. Among natural bioactive compounds, palmitoylethanolamide (PEA) seems to have potentially beneficial effects. In fact, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized an ongoing clinical trial with ultramicronized (um)-PEA as an add-on therapy in the treatment of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. In support of this hypothesis, in vitro and in vivo studies have highlighted the immunomodulatory, anti-inflammatory, neuroprotective and pain-relieving effects of PEA, especially in its um form. The purpose of this review is to highlight the potential use of um-PEA as an adjuvant treatment in SARS-CoV-2 infection.

scholarly journals Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation in the Treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease and Other Dementias

Healthcare ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. 949
Author(s):  
Athina-Maria Aloizou ◽  
Georgia Pateraki ◽  
Konstantinos Anargyros ◽  
Vasileios Siokas ◽  
Christos Bakirtzis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation ◽  
Magnetic Stimulation ◽  
Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation ◽  
Lewy Body Dementia ◽  
Standard Of Care ◽  
Central Position ◽  
Beneficial Effects ◽  
Dorsolateral Prefrontal

Dementia is a debilitating impairment of cognitive functions that affects millions of people worldwide. There are several diseases belonging to the dementia spectrum, most prominently Alzheimer’s disease (AD), vascular dementia (VD), Lewy body dementia (LBD) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD). Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is a safe, non-invasive form of brain stimulation that utilizes a magnetic coil to generate an electrical field and induce numerous changes in the brain. It is considered efficacious for the treatment of various neuropsychiatric disorders. In this paper, we review the available studies involving rTMS in the treatment of these dementia types. The majority of studies have involved AD and shown beneficial effects, either as a standalone, or as an add-on to standard-of-care pharmacological treatment and cognitive training. The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex seems to hold a central position in the applied protocols, but several parameters still need to be defined. In addition, rTMS has shown potential in mild cognitive impairment as well. Regarding the remaining dementias, research is still at preliminary phases, and large, randomized studies are currently lacking.

scholarly journals The Impact of Oxidative Stress on Blood-Retinal Barrier Physiology in Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Cells ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 64
Author(s):  
Annamaria Tisi ◽  
Marco Feligioni ◽  
Maurizio Passacantando ◽  
Marco Ciancaglini ◽  
Rita Maccarone
Keyword(s):  
Oxidative Stress ◽  
Macular Degeneration ◽  
Pigment Epithelium ◽  
Retinal Pigment ◽  
Age Related Macular Degeneration ◽  
Blood Retinal Barrier ◽  
Functional Changes ◽  
Beneficial Effects ◽  
Age Related ◽  
The Impact

The blood retinal barrier (BRB) is a fundamental eye component, whose function is to select the flow of molecules from the blood to the retina and vice-versa, and its integrity allows the maintenance of a finely regulated microenvironment. The outer BRB, composed by the choriocapillaris, the Bruch’s membrane, and the retinal pigment epithelium, undergoes structural and functional changes in age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the leading cause of blindness worldwide. BRB alterations lead to retinal dysfunction and neurodegeneration. Several risk factors have been associated with AMD onset in the past decades and oxidative stress is widely recognized as a key factor, even if the exact AMD pathophysiology has not been exactly elucidated yet. The present review describes the BRB physiology, the BRB changes occurring in AMD, the role of oxidative stress in AMD with a focus on the outer BRB structures. Moreover, we propose the use of cerium oxide nanoparticles as a new powerful anti-oxidant agent to combat AMD, based on the relevant existing data which demonstrated their beneficial effects in protecting the outer BRB in animal models of AMD.

Interhemispheric Competition After Stroke: Brain Stimulation to Enhance Recovery of Function of the Affected Hand

2009 ◽  
Vol 23 (7) ◽  
pp. 641-656 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dennis A. Nowak ◽  
Christian Grefkes ◽  
Mitra Ameli ◽  
Gereon R. Fink
Keyword(s):  
Brain Stimulation ◽  
Motor Behavior ◽  
Cortical Excitability ◽  
Recovery Of Function ◽  
Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation ◽  
Hand Function ◽  
Clinical Effects ◽  
Sensorimotor Network ◽  
Interhemispheric Competition ◽  
Plastic Changes

Background and purpose. Within the concept of interhemispheric competition, technical modulation of the excitability of motor areas in the contralesional and ipsilesional hemisphere has been applied in an attempt to enhance recovery of hand function following stroke. This review critically summarizes the data supporting the use of novel electrophysiological concepts in the rehabilitation of hand function after stroke. Summary of review. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) are powerful tools to inhibit or facilitate cortical excitability. Modulation of cortical excitability may instantaneously induce plastic changes within the cortical network of sensorimotor areas, thereby improving motor function of the affected hand after stroke. No significant adverse effects have been noted when applying brain stimulation in stroke patients. To date, however, the clinical effects are small to moderate and short lived. Future work should elucidate whether repetitive administration of rTMS or tDCS over several days and the combination of these techniques with behavioral training (ie, physiotherapy) could result in an enhanced effectiveness. Conclusion. Brain stimulation is a safe and promising tool to induce plastic changes in the cortical sensorimotor network to improve motor behavior after stroke. However, several methodological issues remain to be answered to further improve the effectiveness of these new approaches.

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