A dramatic shift is beginning in the disappointing struggle to find something to slow the damage of the Alzheimer’s disease epidemic: The first U.S. experiments with “brain pacemakers” for Alzheimer’s are getting under way. Scientists are looking beyond drugs to implants in the hunt for much-needed new treatments. The research is in its infancy.
Last October, 57-year-old Kathy Sanford underwent groundbreaking surgery to have a pacemaker implanted in her brain to help with the effects of early onset Alzheimer’s Disease.
To see how well it’s working, Sanford is given tests in which she’s asked to highlight certain shapes. Her father Joe Jester says the first time she took the test she was barely able to identify any.
Jester says, ” Then they turned the machine on, and she got 30. So, it was a dramatic improvement right there. We knew right then we were on to something.”
Source: Brain Pacemaker for Alzheimer’s Disease | wusa9.com
A dramatic shift is beginning in the disappointing struggle to find something to slow the damage of the Alzheimer’s disease epidemic: The first U.S. experiments with “brain pacemakers” for Alzheimer’s are getting under way. Scientists are looking beyond drugs to implants in the hunt for much-needed new treatments. The research is in its infancy.
Last October, 57-year-old Kathy Sanford underwent groundbreaking surgery to have a pacemaker implanted in her brain to help with the effects of early onset Alzheimer’s Disease.