Therapeutic Noninvasive Brain Stimulation in Alzheimer’s Disease

2017 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 362-376 ◽  
Author(s):  
Irene Gonsalvez ◽  
Roey Baror ◽  
Peter Fried ◽  
Emiliano Santarnecchi ◽  
Alvaro Pascual-Leone
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Clinical Trials ◽  
Brain Stimulation ◽  
Randomized Clinical Trials ◽  
Therapeutic Potential ◽  
Noninvasive Brain Stimulation ◽  
Promising Alternative ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Therapeutic Trials

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a looming public health crisis that currently lacks an effective treatment. Noninvasive Brain Stimulation (NBS), particularly transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), offers a promising alternative approach to pharmacological interventions for an increasing number of neurological and psychiatric conditions. The aim of this review is summarize data from therapeutic trials of NBS in AD and other dementing illnesses. Despite the potential of NBS, there is limited theoretical framework and a lack of guidelines for its applications to AD. Several published clinical trials failed to report key parameters of the interventions thus limiting the utility of the study to assess efficacy and safety. Our review concludes with some suggestions for future studies aimed to advance research into NBS as a potential treatment for the symptoms and disabilities caused by AD and to enable comparison of results across trials. Ultimately, appropriately powered, and controlled, multi-site randomized clinical trials will be needed to evaluate the therapeutic potential of NBS in AD.

Dance for People with Alzheimer’s Disease: A Systematic Review

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (10) ◽  
pp. 919-933 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alicia Ruiz-Muelle ◽  
María Mar López-Rodríguez
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Systematic Review ◽  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Clinical Trials ◽  
Cognitive Function ◽  
Dance Therapy ◽  
Randomized Clinical Trials ◽  
Future Research

Background: In recent years, several reviews have addressed the effectiveness of dance therapy in dementia, healthy older adults, or the elderly in general. However, reviews regarding the effect of this therapy exclusively on patients diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease have not been found. Objective: The purpose of this study is to review the available literature describing clinical trials which explore the effects of dancing on psychological and physical outcomes, functionality, cognitive function, and quality of life in patients diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. In addition, this review aims to assess the quality of studies that perform dance therapy interventions in these patients. Methods: This study is a systematic review of randomized and non-randomized clinical trials regarding the effect of intervention including a dancing activity in people diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. Results: In total, the evidence for this review rests on 12 studies with a total of 349 participants. The findings of this mini-review confirm the positive effect of dance therapy on physical and cognitive function, functionality, psychological outcomes, and quality of life in people with Alzheimer's disease. Conclusion: Most of the studies implementing dance as part of the therapeutic treatment has shown to improve or slow the worsening in the quality of life of patients with Alzheimer's disease and their caregivers. Future research focused on these patients should use a more exhaustive methodology and make a more detailed description of these kind of interventions.

scholarly journals Deep brain stimulation of the fornix as a therapeutic approach for Alzheimer’s disease: Systematic Review

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paloma Abrantes de Oliveira ◽  
Diogo Abrantes de Oliveira ◽  
Isabelle Magalhães Guedes Freitas
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Deep Brain Stimulation ◽  
Brain Stimulation ◽  
Randomized Clinical Trials ◽  
Anterior Commissure ◽  
Brain Network ◽  
Double Blind ◽  
Alzheimer Dementia ◽  
Deep Brain

INTRODUCTION: Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a disorder characterized by cognitive impairment. The brain network in DA can be interrupted by deficiencies in glucose metabolismo. Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is used in Parkinson’s disease (PM), once it modulates motor circuits. Considering this potential, the benefits of this approach in DA must be evaluated1,2. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the potential benefit of stimulating the cerebral fornix (CF) through DBS for patients with AD. METHODS: Controlled and randomized clinical trials (ECCR), in English, performed on humans, in the last 5 years, indexed on PubMed, were selected from the keywords “Deep brain Stimulation” and “Alzheimer Dementia”. This review was registered on PROSPERO by protocol 254506 and the PRISMA recommendation was used to improve its organization. RESULTS: Deeb W et al. (2019) conducted an ECCR on 42 patients with AD receiving DBS in CF, anterior commissure, corpus and sub-corpus callosum, demonstrating that in 48% of them, old experiences were reported. Furthermore, the memories became better as the stimulation increased. Lozano AM et al. (2016), in turn, developed an ECCR on 6 patients receiving DBS in CF, showing increases in glucose metabolism in some cerebral areas after 12 months, contrasting to the expected reduction in AD, especially in > 65 years. It’s noteworthy that the multicenter and double-blind ECCR by Ponce FA (2016) showed the safety of DBS in CF as therapy for AD, similar to that verified in the MP. CONCLUSION: The analyzed evidences suggest a potential cognitive benefit of DBS in the therapeutic management of AD.

scholarly journals Physical therapy in patients with Alzheimer’s disease: a systematic review of randomized controlled clinical trials

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 311-321 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos Leonardo Sacomani Marques ◽  
Maria Helena Borgato ◽  
Eduardo de Moura Neto ◽  
Rodrigo Bazan ◽  
Gustavo José Luvizutto
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Clinical Trials ◽  
Physical Therapy ◽  
Functional Capacity ◽  
Randomized Clinical Trials ◽  
Disease Assessment ◽  
Clock Drawing Test ◽  
Significant Difference

ABSTRACT The objective of this study is to evaluate the effects of physical therapy on the cognitive and functional capacity of patients with Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). This is a systematic review of randomized or quasi-randomized clinical trials, using the descriptors: AD, dementia and physical therapy. Two studies were included with a total of 207 participants. In study 1, no statistically significant difference was found on the mini-mental state examination (MMSE) (MD 0.0, 95%CI −5.76 to 5.76), neuropsychiatric inventory (MD −4.50, 95%CI −21.24 to 12.24) and Pfeffer instrumental activities questionnaire (MD 0.0 95%CI −6.48 to 6.48). In study 2, there was no statistically significant difference on the MMSE (MD −1.60, 95% CI −3.57 to 0.37), clock-drawing test (MD −0.20, 95%CI −0.61 to 0.21) and Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment Scale - cognitive subscale (MD 1.0, 95%CI −2.21 to 4.21) after 12 months. There was no consistent evidence on the effectiveness of physiotherapeutic intervention in improving cognitive function and functional capacity of patients with AD. More studies should be conducted for better evidence.

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