CRI听力:Brain Pacemaker Helps Keep Memory for AD Patients

It has the makings of a science-fiction movie: Zap someone's brain with mild jolts of electricity to try to stave off the creeping memory loss of Alzheimer's disease. But it's real life for 57-year-old Kathy Sanford, who has early-stage Alzheimer's that is gradually getting worse.

She still lives independently, posting reminders to herself, but can no longer work. At one point, her usual medicines no longer helped.

She then volunteered for a clinical trial at Ohio State University to implant a pacemaker in her brain that would send constant, tiny shocks to the part affected by Alzheimer's.
The research is in its infancy. No one knows if it might work, or if it does, how long the effects might last. Surgeons implanted the device, which is very similar to those used to treat heart problems, in Sanford's brain, and a team of researchers has been monitoring her progress since.

The hope is that the constant electrical stimulation of brain circuits involved in memory and thinking might keep those neural networks active for longer, essentially bypassing some of dementia's damage.

Dr. Ali Rezai is director of neurosciences programs at Ohio State in Columbus, Ohio.
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"It's believed that because of the plaques that are causing the Alzheimer's, the brain networks or connections are slowed down or gummed up. Our hope is that we can increase the activity of the brain and bypass this block in the brain."

Rezai hopes that by essentially waking up areas of the brain slowed down by Alzheimer's and increasing brain activity in general, patients might experience improved memory, attention and cognition.

The treatment might also slow the progression of the disease. Sanford was the first of 10 patients who were approved to receive implants in this study.　

A few months after the five-hour operation, the hair that was shaved off for her brain surgery is growing back, and Sanford says the only side effect is an occasional tingling that she attributes to the electrodes. A battery-powered generator near her collarbone powers them, sending the tiny shocks up her neck and into her brain.

It's too soon to know how she'll fare. Scientists will monitor her for two years.

Rezai says the trial marks a new front in the battle against Alzheimer's. Years of research and drug development have so far proved disappointing.　

"Unfortunately, medications have not proven to be very significant. There is no definitive help for Alzheimer's."
The "brain pacemaker" is not new to the medical world. The overall approach is called deep brain stimulation or DBS.　

DBS with a pacemaker is standard treatment to calm the tremors of Parkinson's disease and other movement disorders.
More than 5 million Americans have Alzheimer's or similar forms of dementia, a number that is expected to rise sharply as baby boomers age.

The current prevalence of Alzheimer's disease in China among people over the age of 60 is 4.2 percent. However, there are no precise statistics about the number of Alzheimer's patients.
China's aging population means that the treatment and care of senior citizens with Alzheimer's will present a growing problem for families and communities in the future.