brain activity Archives - Alzheimers Support

Does Brain Stimulation Prevent Memory Loss?

by Dane Cross–

Maria Mallaband Care Group, a UK based provider of EMI care homes

Recent trials suggest that a small device, similar to a pacemaker, may be able to stimulate brain activity when implanted into the brain of Alzheimer’s patients.

Though unlikely to cure the disease, the device may have the ability to restore some amount of activity in parts of the brain that may be responsible for memory loss, agitation or depression as a result of Alzheimer’s.

The study’s lead author, Gwenn Smith, states that although the stimulated brain activity seen so far is encouraging, the potential of the treatment cannot be accurately gauged until it has been studied in more detail.

Delivering continuous electrical impulses to the brain, the implant is already used in Parkinson’s disease patients to help keep their movements under control.

The team, who carried out the initial research at The University of Toronto, have said they are just beginning to evaluate the positive effects the technology may have on those with Alzheimer’s disease. Publishing their findings in the Archives of Neurology, they came to the idea of testing the device on Alzheimer’s patients after having used it in a study of brain pathways involved in appetite. The discovery of an improved memory was an unexpected side effect.

To test their findings, Smith and her team monitored the brain activity of five patients over the age of 60 who had been diagnosed with mild Alzheimer’s and had been on medication to help stimulate brain activity for six months or more.

The device was implanted near the region of the brain thought to be responsible for storing memories. The simulator was then turned on after two weeks, with the settings and the patients’ medications being kept constant for 12 months.

Positron emission tomography (PET) scanning – a measure of brain activity that keeps track of the cells’ demand for blood flow – was performed and monitored on each patient in month one, six and twelve.

Overall, the team saw the brain activity of each patient increase with the implants. Those who started and ended the test with higher levels of brain activity tended to fare best when tested on cognitive function and quality of life.

However, none of the patients displayed dramatic improvements in those categories. On average, each participant’s cognitive ability continued to decline over time from around 19 (on a scale of 0 to 70 with higher scores denoting worse performance) to 24 by the end of the twelve month period. The patients’ quality of life, measured on a scale of 13 to 52 (again with higher numbers representing worse quality) barely changed.

In response to the results, Smith claimed that “as a group, the patients experienced the decline you’d expect over time though slightly less than expected.”

With the study being a very small phase 1 trial and the implant not having yet being approved to treat Alzheimer’s disease, it is important to temper the findings due to the limited amount of data.

As Smith explains, “Unless we evaluate the procedure in more individuals, it’s very hard to make a claim about what the device’s potential may be.”
The benefits of a treatment based on deep brain stimulation would also need to be thoroughly assessed against its risks and costs.
The price of the surgery and the device itself for Parkinson’s disease patients ranges from $60,000 to $100,000. However, the procedure is now reasonably safe, with most patients being sent home the following day.

We will follow the progress of this device as more testing is done and hope it brings a greater benefit in the future–

Written by Dane Cross on behalf of Maria Mallaband Care Group, a UK based provider of EMI care homes.

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Can mental exercise help dementia?

If you are in your 50’s or 60’s, this message is mostly about prevention. But it’s also about having some fun with Brain exercises whether you are someone with Alzheimer’s dementia or their caregiver.

My husband and I, both in our 60’s, are more cognizant of the games we play since my Mom’s battle with Alzheimer’s. Stimulating our brain is a must, whether it’s with the Brain Quest DVD Games, the latest bestselling novel, a crossword puzzle, the Sunday newspaper or a good game of Trivial Pursuit. Research shows we need to–Do something to keep our mind active everyday!

Even in late stage Alzheimer’s my mom would sit and watch my husband and son play cards for hours. She would smile and giggle and laugh out loud at their antics. Of course, they knew they had an audience as well. We were never sure if she realized what they were doing or just enjoyed being in their company. Playing cards is a good way to keep your brain active.

When Mom first noted memory loss, she used to say she had “Used her brain up. She didn’t need to stress it further.” But the truth is quite the opposite. The more you stay active with physical activity as well as mental, the better you will do.

In early stages of this disease, it is fairly easy to find ways to occupy your patient. They want something to do, but need someone to show them how to do it sometimes. Mom’s first love was crochet. She would crochet for hours in her youth but had forgotten all but the simplest chain stitch by middle stage Alzheimer’s.

Even then she could crochet a single stitch and create a chain. With this simple pattern Mom crocheted hundreds of doilies for friends and family in very late stage Alzheimer’s. When she’d forgotten how to crochet entirely, she turned to Seek ‘n Find puzzle books. Mom loved to color.

One of her happier moments was when I brought a jumbo box Crayola Crayons with a built-in sharpener on the bottom of the box. If she’d ever had a box that big or a sharpener built-in, she had no memory of it and was astounded that such a thing existed. That giant box of crayons was on permanent display in our living room and was the first thing shown to every visitor who arrived.

Later on, Mom would share with everyone who visited that she had actually done all the art work on our walls. (Of course she had not, but I don’t think the Native American Artist who had actually done the work would have been offended at all.)

I know, sometimes there is aggravation and frustration with the impetuous and foolish behavior of the person with Dementia on occasion, but if we stop and learn to see the world through their eyes, it can be quite enlightening.

We have only to remind ourselves about their condition, their mind is traveling backwards in time. Brain exercise has no affect on their mind now. It is too late for them to learn or rejuvenate their brain from the damage done by Alzheimer’s. Though their body is 70-80 years old, they have the mind and appreciation of the world similar to that of a child.

Mom was so proud of her jumbo crayons and coloring book that her only wish before she died was to have every single page colored so that she could pass it on to her grandchildren as an heirloom.

Yes, I still have it…6 years later (now 10 years later.) It means so much to me that I’ve kept it for myself ….at least for now.

A few Ways to Exercise Your Brain:

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Does Brain Stimulation Prevent memory loss?

Does Brain Stimulation Prevent Memory Loss?

Can mental Exercise help Dementia

Can mental exercise help dementia?

A few Ways to Exercise Your Brain: