Mild cognitive impairment, customized brain stimulation treatment effective
Mar 15, 2025
Two international academic journals have found that transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is effective considering dementia-related risk factors for individual patients with mild cognitive impairment classified as a high-risk stage of dementia.
The study confirmed that customized brain stimulation therapy improves cognitive decline intensity and strengthens the connectivity of neural networks involved in the compensatory mechanism of Alzheimer's disease.
Alzheimer's disease, which accounts for the most common cause of dementia, is a typical neurodegenerative disease caused by the causative pathology of amyloid beta protein and tau protein. In the mild cognitive impairment stage, there is no treatment method with a clear effect, so various therapeutic attempts are being made.
Transcranial direct current electrical stimulation treatment is a method of attaching small electrodes to the scalp and stimulating certain parts of the brain by flowing very weak current, and it is known to repair damage to neural networks caused by neurodegenerative diseases and promote the secretion of brain-derived nerve growth factors that help brain cells grow and connect.
A research team led by Professor Kang Dong-woo (first author) of the Department of Mental Health at Seoul St. Mary's Hospital of Catholic University and Professor Lim Hyun-guk (corresponding author) of the Brain Health Center at Yeouido St. Mary's Hospital evaluated 63 patients with mild cognitive impairment after applying a fine current of 2 mA to the left ventral frontal lobe for two weeks, the presence or absence of amyloid-beta protein deposition, a major factor related to individual dementia, APOE4, a high-risk allele for sporadic Alzheimer's disease, and whether or not the treatment effect varies depending on gender.
The research team applied a Bayesian analysis method that can evaluate the strength of the research results to evaluate changes in cognitive function according to individual factors, and confirmed that execution ability and cognitive function improved more significantly after applying transcranial direct current electrical stimulation (Val/Val) when amyloid beta protein was not deposited with significant strength and did not possess alleles that reduce the production of brain-derived neural growth factors.
Additionally, it was confirmed that APOE4 boys and women, who are known to be vulnerable to Alzheimer's disease among patients with mild cognitive impairment, increase neural network connectivity related to salience networks as a compensatory action and that changes in the neural network are significantly associated with an increase in memory scores.
Professor Kang Dong-woo "By considering individual risk factors related to Alzheimer's disease, we were able to confirm the need for precise medical application of brain stimulation therapy in that it was possible to select groups with mild cognitive impairment that could show better therapeutic effects on transcranial direct current electrical stimulation.".
Professor Lim Hyun-guk provides biological clues about personalized treatment for patients with mild cognitive impairment in that he identified the importance of individual factors based on changes in microbrain structure and the basis for individual factors mediating better treatment effects of transcranial direct current electrical stimulation," he stressed.
The study was conducted through Professor Kang Dong-woo's excellent research by the Korea Research Foundation, and the results were published in the recent editions of the international academic journals 'Scientific Reports' and 'Frontiers in Psychiatry'.
The study confirmed that customized brain stimulation therapy improves cognitive decline intensity and strengthens the connectivity of neural networks involved in the compensatory mechanism of Alzheimer's disease.
Alzheimer's disease, which accounts for the most common cause of dementia, is a typical neurodegenerative disease caused by the causative pathology of amyloid beta protein and tau protein. In the mild cognitive impairment stage, there is no treatment method with a clear effect, so various therapeutic attempts are being made.
Transcranial direct current electrical stimulation treatment is a method of attaching small electrodes to the scalp and stimulating certain parts of the brain by flowing very weak current, and it is known to repair damage to neural networks caused by neurodegenerative diseases and promote the secretion of brain-derived nerve growth factors that help brain cells grow and connect.
A research team led by Professor Kang Dong-woo (first author) of the Department of Mental Health at Seoul St. Mary's Hospital of Catholic University and Professor Lim Hyun-guk (corresponding author) of the Brain Health Center at Yeouido St. Mary's Hospital evaluated 63 patients with mild cognitive impairment after applying a fine current of 2 mA to the left ventral frontal lobe for two weeks, the presence or absence of amyloid-beta protein deposition, a major factor related to individual dementia, APOE4, a high-risk allele for sporadic Alzheimer's disease, and whether or not the treatment effect varies depending on gender.
The research team applied a Bayesian analysis method that can evaluate the strength of the research results to evaluate changes in cognitive function according to individual factors, and confirmed that execution ability and cognitive function improved more significantly after applying transcranial direct current electrical stimulation (Val/Val) when amyloid beta protein was not deposited with significant strength and did not possess alleles that reduce the production of brain-derived neural growth factors.
Additionally, it was confirmed that APOE4 boys and women, who are known to be vulnerable to Alzheimer's disease among patients with mild cognitive impairment, increase neural network connectivity related to salience networks as a compensatory action and that changes in the neural network are significantly associated with an increase in memory scores.
Professor Kang Dong-woo "By considering individual risk factors related to Alzheimer's disease, we were able to confirm the need for precise medical application of brain stimulation therapy in that it was possible to select groups with mild cognitive impairment that could show better therapeutic effects on transcranial direct current electrical stimulation.".
Professor Lim Hyun-guk provides biological clues about personalized treatment for patients with mild cognitive impairment in that he identified the importance of individual factors based on changes in microbrain structure and the basis for individual factors mediating better treatment effects of transcranial direct current electrical stimulation," he stressed.
The study was conducted through Professor Kang Dong-woo's excellent research by the Korea Research Foundation, and the results were published in the recent editions of the international academic journals 'Scientific Reports' and 'Frontiers in Psychiatry'.
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This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
