Impact of 40âHz Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation on Cerebral Tau Burden in Patients with Alzheimer's Disease: A Case Series.
J Alzheimers Dis
; 85(4): 1667-1676, 2022.
Article
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| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-34958021
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by diffuse amyloid-ß (Aß) and phosphorylated Tau (p-Tau) aggregates as well as neuroinflammation. Exogenously-induced 40âHz gamma oscillations have been showing to reduce Aß and p-Tau deposition presumably via microglia activation in AD mouse models.OBJECTIVE:
We aimed to translate preclinical data on gamma-induction in AD patients by means of transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS).METHODS:
Four participants with mild-to-moderate AD received 1âh of daily 40âHz (gamma) tACS for 4 weeks (Monday to Friday) targeting the bitemporal lobes (20âh treatment duration). Participant underwent Aß, p-Tau, and microglia PET imaging with [11C]-PiB, [18F]-FTP, and [11C]-PBR28 respectively, before and after the intervention along with electrophysiological assessment.RESULTS:
No adverse events were reported, and an increase in gamma spectral power on EEG was observed after the treatment. [18F]-FTP PET revealed a significant decrease over 2% of p-Tau burden in 3/4 patients following the tACS treatment, primarily involving the temporal lobe regions targeted by tACS and especially mesial regions (e.g., entorhinal cortex). The amount of intracerebral Aß as measured by [11C]-PiB was not significantly influenced by tACS, whereas 1/4 reported a significant decrease of microglia activation as measured by [11C]-PBR28.CONCLUSION:
tACS seems to represent a safe and feasible option for gamma induction in AD patients, with preliminary evidence of a possible effect on protein clearance partially mimicking what is observed in animal models. Longer interventions and placebo control conditions are needed to fully evaluate the potential for tACS to slow disease progression.Palabras clave
Texto completo:
1
Banco de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Proteínas tau
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Enfermedad de Alzheimer
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Estimulación Transcraneal de Corriente Directa
Tipo de estudio:
Clinical_trials
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Prognostic_studies
Límite:
Aged
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Animals
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Female
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Humans
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Male
Idioma:
En
Año:
2022
Tipo del documento:
Article