Brain-zapping treatment could stave off Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s

A treatment that uses electricity to “zap” the brain to stave off symptoms of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease could be rolled out to more patients after a major breakthrough. 

Using electricity to stimulate specific regions of the brain has been successful in previous studies but has only been possible with the implantation of electrodes into the brain – an invasive and dangerous surgical procedure.

However, a new trial with 20 volunteers has shown for the first time that electrodes stuck on the scalp can activate the brain’s key regions and boost function.

The breakthrough means the treatment, which has been shown to be safe and effective, will now be available to more people.

Participants were asked to perform a memory test after having the brain-zapping nodes stuck on their head. The treatment was shown to improve cognitive ability.

Need for surgery

The technique was developed by the UK Dementia Research Institute at Imperial College London and the University of Surrey.

Dr Nir Grossman, from the institute, who led the study, said: “We have shown for the first time that it is possible to remotely stimulate specific regions deep within the human brain without the need for surgery.

“This opens up an entirely new avenue of treatment for brain diseases like Alzheimer’s which affect deep brain structures. 

“We hope it will help to scale up the availability of deep brain stimulation therapies by drastically reducing cost and risk.”

The team is now working to see if repeated brain zapping could help Alzheimer’s sufferers.

“We hope that this will restore normal brain activity in the affected areas, which could improve symptoms of memory impairment,” added Dr Grossman.

Brain stimulation

Participants in the trial said it was “easy and straightforward” and “wasn’t at all painful”.

Dr Richard Oakley, associate director of research and innovation at the Alzheimer’s Society, said: “This study shows that it is possible to do deep brain stimulation simply by wearing a headset. What’s more, this stimulation can improve performance in memory tasks in healthy people.

“Dementia is a devastating terminal illness and the UK’s biggest killer, so it really is exciting to see research opening up whole new areas for future treatment, but it’s still very early days. 

“We’re looking forward to seeing how the study develops, particularly how long-lasting the changes could be for people living with Alzheimer’s disease.”

The study results were published in the journal Nature Neuroscience.