The Potential for Neuromodulation in the Treatment of Alzheimer's Disease: A Review of Clinical Trials

Abstract

There is still no cure for Alzheimer's disease (AD), which remains the leading cause of dementia in Western countries. Neuromodulation, the use of electrical or chemical interventions to modify neuronal excitability, has shown promise in treating several neurological conditions and has become a topic of interest in the context of AD. We aim to review clinical trials related to neuromodulation in AD. Analysis of current clinical trials was conducted using ClinicalTrials.gov. The search term used was "Alzheimer's disease," and results were filtered for studies that included neuromodulation. One hundred and eleven clinical trials were found, and 82 trials remained after exclusion. All trials utilized some form of neuromodulation device as the primary intervention, with transcranial magnetic stimulation and transcranial direct current stimulation as the most common modalities. Thirty-six (43.9%) trials were completed, 20 (24.3%) were not yet recruiting, 23 (28.0%) were actively recruiting, and three (3.7%) were enrolling by invitation. Of the completed trials, only 11 (30.6%) had associated results, and of those 11, eight (22.2% of completed trials, 72.7% of trials with results) were associated with published articles in a peer-reviewed journal. All but one of the eight trials displayed some form of improvement in their metric of choice. Although the number of trials with published results is limited, there appears to be positive evidence of the efficacy of neuromodulation in treating AD. The medical community must continue to emphasize the need for additional clinical trials in this area.

Keywords: alzheimer’s disease; clinical trials; neuromodulation; tdcs; tms.

Figure 1. Diagram showing the studies identified, screened, and included in the review

All studies were obtained from ClinicalTrials.gov. Major exclusion criteria included studies that were terminated, withdrawn, suspended, or of unknown status.