Noninvasive Brain Stimulation Shows Potential to Slow Cognitive and Functional Decline in Mild-to-Moderate Alzheimer Disease
Patients treated with PC-rTMS showed almost no decline in the CDR-SB score, and presented a clear advantage in terms of cognitive functions in contrast to the worsening of the score observed in the sham group.
Findings from a 24-week phase 2 study (NCT03778151) showed that treatment with a precision-delivered noninvasive brain stimulation (PC-rTMS) targeted to patients’ precuneus has the potential to slow the progression of cognitive decline and functional decline in patients with mild-to-moderate dementia due to Alzheimer disease (AD).1,2
In the 50-patient, double-blind, sham-controlled trial, those who received the active therapy had cognitive decline slowed by 82% at 6 months in comparison to those on sham, represented by a treatment difference of 1.3 points on Clinical Dementia Rating-Sum of Boxes (CDR-SB) score (P = .009). Considered one of the largest such trials of brain stimulation in AD, the results showed that PC-rTMS is safe and well tolerated by patients with AD, as adverse events (AE) were uncommon and mild.
lead investigator Giacomo Koch, MD, PhD, co-founder, Sinaptica Therapeutics, director, Non-invasive Brain Stimulation Laboratory, Santa Lucia Foundation, said in a statement that they were encouraged by the findings, adding that “The results are particularly notable because they were achieved in patients already showing symptoms of mild-to-moderate dementia, in which cognitive decline progresses more rapidly and is less responsive to drug interventions. As one of the largest trials of brain stimulation ever conducted in Alzheimer’s disease resulting in a therapeutic benefit and the first to use a precision-delivered protocol targeting the precuneus, we have validated the potential of our novel approach to be a new therapeutic tool in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease and potentially other neurodegenerative diseases.”…
Click HERE for full article