Gamma sensory stimulation safe, effective in those with Alzheimer’s disease
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SEATTLE — Self-administered home use of gamma sensory stimulation reduced brain atrophy safely in people with Alzheimer’s disease, a presenter said at the 2022 American Academy of Neurology annual meeting.
Mihaly Hajos, PharmD, PhD, chief scientific officer at Cognito Therapeutics and adjunct professor at Yale University, and colleagues evaluated the safety, tolerability and efficacy of 40-Hz gamma sensory stimulation in patients with AD.
In a phase 1/2 randomized, controlled, single-blind multicenter clinical trial using the GammaSense Stimulation device (Cognito Therapeutics), 74 participants received either daily 1-hour EEG-calibrated noninvasive audiovisual stimulation or sham stimulation over 6 months. All participants were aged 55 years and older and had Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) scores between 14 and 26.
Changes in AD Cooperative Study-Activities of Daily Living (ADCS-ADL) scores were significantly better in those receiving the gamma sensory stimulation compared with those receiving sham treatment, indicating a 78% slowing in functional decline, researchers reported.
Moreover, the treatment group showed an 83% reduction in cognitive decline, according to changes in MMSE scores. Quantitative MRI analysis showed those in the treatment group had a 72% reduction in brain atrophy, as well as reduced lateral ventricle enlargement and diminished loss in cortical thickness in the occipital cortex. No unexpected serious treatment adverse events were reported.
Hajos also said that nighttime activities among people with AD significantly improved in those receiving gamma sensory stimulation.
“Duration of nighttime awake values were significantly reduced, indicating potential improvement in sleep,” he said. “Considering the strong correlation between sleep abnormalities and Alzheimer’s disease pathologies, we could speculate that improvement in sleep quality could contribute to the observed maintenance of activity.
“Daily [regimens] of gamma sensory stimulation are safe and well-tolerated in Alzheimer’s disease patients,” Hajos concluded.