THE magnetic STIMULATION to ‘protect’ the memory and slow down l’Alzheimer. This is the goal of a study just launched by the IRCCS Centro San Giovanni di Dio Fatebenefratelli in Brescia and coordinated by doctor Michela Pievani. The research is aimed at people of at least 60 years without cognitive deficits and aims to test whether the rTMS neuromodulation technique (repeated transcranial magnetic stimulation) to modulate, through the application of repeated magnetic pulses, the communication between the areas of the neuronal network called DMN (default mode network). It is an area of the brain associated with episodic and autobiographical memory.
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Numerous studies have shown how in people diagnosed with Alzheimer this network has a reduced connectivity due to the memory difficulties characteristic of the disease. This reduced interconnectedness was also found to be present in people without cognitive deficits, but with an increased risk of developing cognitive deficits due to predisposing factors. Over time, several studies have focused on magnetic stimulation to counteract cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s.
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The selection of patients who will participate in the test will follow precise indications. People in line with the study criteria will be randomly assigned to one of the two experimental groups. The first will be subjected to active stimulation (real rTMS) and the second to placebo (rTMS sham). The study protocol includes four sessions of repeated transcranial magnetic stimulation, two neuropsychological assessments, two MRI exams and two neurophysiological exams that will be performed before the sessions at their end. The neuropsychological evaluation will be repeated even two months after the operation.
Alzheimer’s, ‘cleaning up’ the brain to fight the disease
at Federico Mereta
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