Alzheimer’s disease: a novel application for deep-brain stimulation?

Written by Tejas Sankar

The incidence of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is increasing as the world's population ages, and will double in the next 20 years [1]. Unfortunately, despite immense investment of research effort and capital into pharmacological approaches, no drug has yet been developed that consistently yields a significant and lasting clinical benefit in AD sufferers. In this context, novel approaches to treating AD may help respond to a critical unmet need while the quest for effective drugs continues [2]. Deep-brain stimulation (DBS) is the focused delivery of direct electrical current to specific targets in the brain through neurosurgically implanted electrodes. Thought to work...

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