• World Neurosurg · Sep 2013

    Review

    Stimulate or degenerate: deep brain stimulation of the nucleus basalis Meynert in Alzheimer dementia.

    • Katja Hardenacke, Jens Kuhn, Doris Lenartz, Mohammad Maarouf, Jürgen K Mai, Christina Bartsch, Hans J Freund, and Volker Sturm.
    • Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
    • World Neurosurg. 2013 Sep 1;80(3-4):S27.e35-43.

    ObjectiveDeep brain stimulation (DBS) is a therapeutically effective neurosurgical method originally applied in movement disorders. Over time, the application of DBS has increasingly been considered as a therapeutic option for several neuropsychiatric disorders, including Gilles de la Tourette syndrome, obsessive compulsive disorder, major depression and addiction. Latest research suggests beneficial effects of DBS in Alzheimer dementia (AD). Because of the high prevalence and the considerable burden of the disease, we endeavored to discuss and reveal the challenges of DBS in AD.MethodsRecent literature on the pathophysiology of AD, including translational data and human studies, has been studied to generate a fundamental hypothesis regarding the effects of electrical stimulation on cognition and to facilitate our ongoing pilot study regarding DBS of the nucleus basalis Meynert (NBM) in patients with AD.ResultsIt is hypothesized that DBS in the nucleus basalis Meynert could probably improve or at least stabilize memory and cognitive functioning in patients with AD by facilitating neural oscillations and by enhancing the synthesis of nerve growth factors.ConclusionsConsidering the large number of patients suffering from AD, there is a great need for novel and effective treatment methods. Our research provides insights into the theoretical background of DBS in AD. Providing that our hypothesis will be validated by our ongoing pilot study, DBS could be an opportunity in the treatment of AD.Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

      Pubmed     Full text   Copy Citation     Plaintext  

      Add institutional full text...

    Notes

     
    Knowledge, pearl, summary or comment to share?
    300 characters remaining
    help        
    You can also include formatting, links, images and footnotes in your notes
    • Simple formatting can be added to notes, such as *italics*, _underline_ or **bold**.
    • Superscript can be denoted by <sup>text</sup> and subscript <sub>text</sub>.
    • Numbered or bulleted lists can be created using either numbered lines 1. 2. 3., hyphens - or asterisks *.
    • Links can be included with: [my link to pubmed](http://pubmed.com)
    • Images can be included with: ![alt text](https://bestmedicaljournal.com/study_graph.jpg "Image Title Text")
    • For footnotes use [^1](This is a footnote.) inline.
    • Or use an inline reference [^1] to refer to a longer footnote elseweher in the document [^1]: This is a long footnote..

    hide…