transcranial-pulse-stimulation-for-alzheimer-s-patients

Transcranial Pulse Stimulation for Alzheimer's Patients

Transcranial pulse stimulation (TPS) is a noninvasive neuromodulation therapy with Conformit&#233; Europ&#233;enne (CE) marking for the treatment of ...

Academic Teaching Hospital of the Heinrich-Heine-University Duesseldorf

Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf

Neurologische Praxis am Neurozentrum Kempen, Prof. Dr. med. Lars Wojtecki

Transcranial pulse stimulation (TPS) is a non-invasive neuromodulation therapy that uses short, repetitive shockwaves through a neuro-navigated device. Current research suggests that these pulses lead to a wide range of vascular, metabolic, and neurotrophic changes. This relatively new CE-marked treatment provided first promising results in a clinical pilot study for improving cognition in mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's. Data from other centers is lacking, so here we analyzed safety and pilot real-world short-term results of TPS from the first center in Germany. To gain information about effects in different stages, patients with not only mild but also moderate-to-severe Alzheimer's were analyzed.

Retrospective real-world pilot data on transcranial pulse stimulation in mild to severe Alzheimer's patients.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder that dramatically affects cognitive abilities and represents the most common cause of dementia. Currently, pharmacological interventions represent the main treatment to deal with the symptoms of AD; however, alternative approaches are readily sought. Transcranial pulse stimulation (TPS) is an emerging non-invasive neuromodulation technique that uses short, repetitive shockwaves with the potential to provide a wide range of vascular, metabolic, and neurotrophic changes and that has recently been shown to improve cognitive abilities in AD. This exploratory study aims to gain insight into the neurophysiological effect of one session of TPS in AD as reflected in electroencephalographic measures, e.g., spectral power, coherence, Tsallis entropy (TE), and cross-frequency coupling (cfc). We document changes in power (frontal and occipital), coherence (frontal, occipital and temporal), and TE (temporal and frontal) as well as changes in cfc (parietal-frontal, parietal-temporal, frontal-temporal). Our results emphasize the role of electroencephalographic measures as prospective markers for the neurophysiological effect of TPS.

Electrical brain networks before and after transcranial pulsed shockwave stimulation in Alzheimer's patients.

 Neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's disease (PD) are becoming increasingly prevalent, necessitating diverse treatment options to manage symptoms. The effectiveness of these treatments depends on accurate and sensitive diagnostic methods. This exploratory pilot study explores the use of eye tracking and compares it to neuropsychological tests on patients treated with deep transcranial magnetic stimulation (dTMS). : We used the HTC Vive Pro Eye VR headset with Tobii eye tracker to measure eye movements in 10 Parkinson syndrome patients while viewing three 360-degree scenes. Eye movements were recorded pre- and post-dTMS, focusing on Fixation Duration, Longest Fixation Period, Saccade Rate, and Total Fixations. Neuropsychological assessments (MoCA, TUG, BDI) were conducted before and after stimulation. dTMS was performed using the Brainsway device with the H5 helmet, targeting the motor cortex (1 Hz) and the prefrontal cortex (10 Hz) for 7-12 sessions.  ROC analysis indicated a moderate ability to differentiate between states using eye movement parameters. Significant correlations were found between changes in the longest fixation period and MoCA scores (r = 0.65,  = 0.025), and between fixation durations and BDI scores (r = -0.55,  = 0.043). Paired -tests showed no significant differences in eye movement parameters, but BDI scores significantly reduced post-dTMS (t(5) = 2.57,  = 0.049). : Eye-tracking parameters, particularly the Longest Fixation Duration and Saccade Rate, could serve as sensitive and feasible biomarkers for cognitive changes in Parkinson's Syndrome, offering a quick alternative to traditional methods. Traditional neuropsychological tests showed a significant improvement in depressive symptoms after dTMS. Further research with larger sample sizes is necessary to validate these findings and explore the diagnostic utility of eye tracking.

Eye Tracking as Biomarker Compared to Neuropsychological Tests in Parkinson Syndromes: An Exploratory Pilot Study Before and After Deep Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation.

Article	Year
Retrospective real-world pilot data on transcranial pulse stimulation in mild to severe Alzheimer's patients. Frontiers in neurology\| PubMed ID: 36188380	2022
Electrical brain networks before and after transcranial pulsed shockwave stimulation in Alzheimer's patients. GeroScience\| PubMed ID: 39192004	2025
Eye Tracking as Biomarker Compared to Neuropsychological Tests in Parkinson Syndromes: An Exploratory Pilot Study Before and After Deep Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation. Brain sciences\| PubMed ID: 40002513	2025

Celine Cont

Biography

JoVE Journal Publications

Other Publications