Alzheimer’s researchers trying brain zaps
It has the makings of a science fiction movie: zap someone’s brain with mild jolts of electricity to try to stave off the creeping memory loss of Alzheimer’s disease.
And it’s not easy. Holes are drilled into the patient’s skull so tiny wires can be implanted into just the right spot.
A dramatic shift is beginning in the frustrating struggle to find something to slow the damage of this 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. Only a few dozen people with early-stage Alzheimer’s will be implanted in a handful of hospitals. No one knows if it might work, and if it does, how long the effects might last.
Kathy Sanford was among the first to sign up. The Ohio woman’s early-stage Alzheimer’s was gradually getting worse. She still lived independently, posting reminders to herself, but no longer could work. Medications weren’t helping.
