Clinical Research
Treating Alzheimer′s disease using transcranial magnetic stimulation
Heng Zhang, Rongxia Ji, Jia Li
Published 2019-01-25
Cite as Chin J Phys Med Rehabil, 2019, 41(1): 18-22. DOI: 10.3760/cma.j.issn.0254-1424.2019.01.004
Abstract
ObjectiveTo observe the clinical effect of treating Alzheimer′s disease (AD) using transcranial magnetic stimulation.
MethodsOne hundred and ninety-six patients with Alzheimer′s disease were randomly divided into an observation group and a control group, each of 98. The observation group was given transcranial magnetic stimulation of the left and right dorsolateral frontal lobes of the brain and simultaneously given "8-shaped" coil stimulation. The stimulation intensity was 80% of the motor threshold with a sequence of 2 s of stimulation at 5 Hz and 30 s rest for 30 min in each session. There were two sessions a day for 28 days. The control group was treated with identical pseudo-stimulation. Moreover, both groups were treated with intravenous injections of 20 ml of Ginkgo biloba extract dissolved in 250 ml of sodium chloride, or in the control group a glucose injection, one daily for two weeks. Before and after the treatment, the cognition, behavior and neuropsychological symptoms of both groups were evaluated using the mini mental state examination scale (MMSE), the AD rating scale (ADAS-cog), the activity of daily living (ADL) scale, a neuropsychiatric questionnaire (NPI) and an AD behavioral pathology rating scale (BEHAVE-AD) to compare the clinical effects.
ResultsThere were no significant differences in the groups′ average scores on any of the evaluations before the treatment. After the treatment, the average MMSE and ADAS-cog scores in both groups had improved significantly, but with significantly greater improvement in the observation group. After the treatment, the average ADL, NPI and BEHAVE-AD scores of the observation group and the average ADL score of the control group were significantly lower than before the treatment. No significant differences were observed in the average NPI and BEHAVE-AD scores of the control group. After the intervention, the average ADL, NPI and BEHAVE-AD scores in the observation group were significantly lower than those of the control group. The total effectiveness rate of the observation group (90.8%) was significantly higher than that of the control group (62.2%).
ConclusionTranscranial magnetic stimulation can significantly improve the cognitive, behavioral and neuropsychological status of patients with Alzheimer′s disease.
Key words:
Alzheimer′s disease; Transcranial magnetic stimulation; Ginkgo biloba extract
Contributor Information
Heng Zhang
Department of Neurology, Henan Provincial Staff and Workers Hospital, Zhengzhou 450002, China
Rongxia Ji
Department of Neurology, Henan Provincial Staff and Workers Hospital, Zhengzhou 450002, China
Jia Li
College of Acupuncture and Orthopedics, Hubei Provincial Collaborative Innovation Center for Preventive Treatment by Acupuncture and Moxibustion, Hubei University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Wuhan 430000, China
