Application of transcranial brain stimulation in dementia

The number of patients with dementia grows rapidly as the global population ages, which posits tremendous health-care burden to the society. Only cholinesterase inhibitors and a N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonist have been approved for treating patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD), and...

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Main Authors: Yuncin Luo, Feng-Yi Yang, Raymond Y Lo
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications 2023-01-01
Series:Tzu Chi Medical Journal
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.tcmjmed.com/article.asp?issn=1016-3190;year=2023;volume=35;issue=4;spage=300;epage=305;aulast=Luo
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author Yuncin Luo
Feng-Yi Yang
Raymond Y Lo
author_facet Yuncin Luo
Feng-Yi Yang
Raymond Y Lo
author_sort Yuncin Luo
collection DOAJ
description The number of patients with dementia grows rapidly as the global population ages, which posits tremendous health-care burden to the society. Only cholinesterase inhibitors and a N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonist have been approved for treating patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD), and their clinical effects remained limited. Medical devices serve as an alternative therapeutic approach to modulating neural activities and enhancing cognitive function. Four major brain stimulation technologies including deep brain stimulation (DBS), transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), and transcranial ultrasound stimulation (TUS) have been applied to AD in a clinical trial setting. DBS allows electrical stimulation at the specified nucleus but remains resource-demanding, and after all, an invasive surgery; whereas TMS and tDCS are widely available and affordable but less ideal with respect to localization. The unique physical property of TUS, on the other hand, allows both thermal and mechanical energy to be transduced and focused for neuromodulation. In the context of dementia, using focused ultrasound to induce blood-brain barrier opening for delivering drugs and metabolizing amyloid protein has drawn great attention in recent years. Furthermore, low-intensity pulsed ultrasound has demonstrated its neuroprotective effects in both in vitro and in vivo studies, leading to ongoing clinical trials for AD. The potential and limitation of transcranial brain stimulation for treating patients with dementia would be discussed in this review.
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spelling doaj-art-f7aa1286aa274ef695b2cefbf55bd3132025-08-20T02:55:12ZengWolters Kluwer Medknow PublicationsTzu Chi Medical Journal1016-31902223-89562023-01-0135430030510.4103/tcmj.tcmj_91_23Application of transcranial brain stimulation in dementiaYuncin LuoFeng-Yi YangRaymond Y LoThe number of patients with dementia grows rapidly as the global population ages, which posits tremendous health-care burden to the society. Only cholinesterase inhibitors and a N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonist have been approved for treating patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD), and their clinical effects remained limited. Medical devices serve as an alternative therapeutic approach to modulating neural activities and enhancing cognitive function. Four major brain stimulation technologies including deep brain stimulation (DBS), transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), and transcranial ultrasound stimulation (TUS) have been applied to AD in a clinical trial setting. DBS allows electrical stimulation at the specified nucleus but remains resource-demanding, and after all, an invasive surgery; whereas TMS and tDCS are widely available and affordable but less ideal with respect to localization. The unique physical property of TUS, on the other hand, allows both thermal and mechanical energy to be transduced and focused for neuromodulation. In the context of dementia, using focused ultrasound to induce blood-brain barrier opening for delivering drugs and metabolizing amyloid protein has drawn great attention in recent years. Furthermore, low-intensity pulsed ultrasound has demonstrated its neuroprotective effects in both in vitro and in vivo studies, leading to ongoing clinical trials for AD. The potential and limitation of transcranial brain stimulation for treating patients with dementia would be discussed in this review.http://www.tcmjmed.com/article.asp?issn=1016-3190;year=2023;volume=35;issue=4;spage=300;epage=305;aulast=Luoalzheimer's diseasebrain stimulationdementiafocused ultrasoundtranscranial ultrasound
spellingShingle Yuncin Luo
Feng-Yi Yang
Raymond Y Lo
Application of transcranial brain stimulation in dementia
Tzu Chi Medical Journal
alzheimer's disease
brain stimulation
dementia
focused ultrasound
transcranial ultrasound
title Application of transcranial brain stimulation in dementia
title_full Application of transcranial brain stimulation in dementia
title_fullStr Application of transcranial brain stimulation in dementia
title_full_unstemmed Application of transcranial brain stimulation in dementia
title_short Application of transcranial brain stimulation in dementia
title_sort application of transcranial brain stimulation in dementia
topic alzheimer's disease
brain stimulation
dementia
focused ultrasound
transcranial ultrasound
url http://www.tcmjmed.com/article.asp?issn=1016-3190;year=2023;volume=35;issue=4;spage=300;epage=305;aulast=Luo
work_keys_str_mv AT yuncinluo applicationoftranscranialbrainstimulationindementia
AT fengyiyang applicationoftranscranialbrainstimulationindementia
AT raymondylo applicationoftranscranialbrainstimulationindementia