Stimulating Possibility for Alzheimer's

Ivanhoe Newswire
Wednesday, October 4, 2006; 12:00 AM

(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Stimulating a nerve that starts in the brain and runs down through the neck, chest and abdomen might one day help Alzheimer's patients retain brain power.

According to a new study, most people who received electrical stimulation of the vagus nerve either improved somewhat in terms of Alzheimer's symptoms or didn't get any worse over a 12-month period.

The research out of Sweden involved 17 people thought to have the condition and builds on previous work involving some of the same patients. After a year, 12 out of the 17 either showed improvement or had no decline in mental abilities as measured by standard tests. Most also ended the year-long study without significant changes in their Alzheimer's medications, and no adverse side effects were seen.

The investigators emphasize the study was mainly conducted to see if vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) would be safe and well tolerated by the Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients but believe their findings hold promise for the treatment as a way to keep the deadly mental condition from progressing -- and perhaps even improving over time.

They write, "The results of this study support long-term tolerability of VNS among patients with AD and warrant further investigation."

Vagus nerve stimulation has also been tested to treat patients with depression, epilepsy and bulimia.

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SOURCE: Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 2006;67:1171-1178