New clinical data on TPS
New clinical data on Transcranial Pulse Stimulation published
At the “32nd International Congress of Clinical Neurophysiology (ICCN 2022)” in Geneva, Switzerland, neuroscientist Prof. Lars Wojtecki presented new clinical results on Transcranial Pulse Stimulation (TPS) in Alzheimer’s disease patients
A team led by Prof. Lars Wojtecki, head physician of the Department of Neurology and Neurorehabilitation at the Hospital zum Heiligen Geist Kempen, an academic teaching hospital of the Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf (HHU), conducted a pilot study to investigate the effect of ultra-short shock wave pulses of Transcranial Pulse Stimulation (TPS) on Alzheimer’s patients with different degrees of the disease and closely documented the results with EEG recordings. In collaboration with researchers from the Max Planck Institute, Frankfurt/Main, the University of Marburg and the University of Giessen, the data in turn confirm the results of the Medical University of Vienna, University Clinic for Neurology, both in terms of the extent of the cognitive improvements and the low side effects.
Patient:in selection and methodology: Heterogeneous group had MMST values between 2 and 27 before starting with TPS
In order to observe the influence of Transcranial Pulse Stimulation (TPS) on the brain functions of people suffering from Alzheimer’s dementia objectively and more broadly, the group of subjects was not selected homogeneously, but deliberately heterogeneously. The 10 patients included people with MMST scores ranging from a minimum of 2 to a maximum of 27.
The participants received four to 12 TPS sessions, with six treatments within two weeks and then refresher treatments every four weeks with one session each.
In addition to using various measures (e.g. ADAS, MMST, MoCa, BDI) to assess cognitive and affective state, the researchers also used longitudinal EEG recordings. EEG recordings were conducted before and after the first session and subsequently after the entire cycle of six treatment sessions. Corresponding data from a period of up to 11 months are now available.
Result: Different improvements in all subjects, consistent changes in entropy in the EEG
All patients showed improvements in at least one of the neuropsychological tests. The caregivers confirmed an increase in activities of daily living in most of the participants.
A significant mean change was observed especially in the ADAS sum score with 18%. Although some patients showed only slight improvements, as the group had been selected heterogeneously up to severe Alzheimer’s dementia, the most striking improvement was 40%.
In addition, a clear improvement in mood was observed in some patients. Finally, the EEG recordings showed an increase in brain power in all frequency bands in all participants after the first session. In addition, there were more consistent changes in EEG entropy towards a clearer arrangement of brain waves after the TPS treatments.
Conclusion and outlook
Prof Wojtecki, whose scientific work and research focuses on cognitive and emotional functions of neural networks and their modulability by brain stimulation, calls for more data and subgroups for analysis after this sample. Prospective controlled studies are, according to the researchers, the next necessary step to further prove the efficacy of Transcranial Pulse Stimulation (TPS). In addition, they see EEG entropy as a promising biomarker tool for patient response to TPS therapy.
Source:
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fneur.2022.948204/full
About Prof. Dr. med. Lars Wojtecki
Prof. Dr. med. Lars Wojtecki is head physician of the Clinic for Neurology and Neurorehabilitation at the Hospital zum Heiligen Geist in Kempen, academic teaching hospital of the Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf (HHU) as well as working group leader (AG interPHYS: Interventional Neurophysiology and Neuropsychology / Cognitive Neurology) at the Institute for Clinical Neurosciences and Medical Psychology of the University Hospital Düsseldorf.
Further information on Prof. Dr. med. Lars Wojtecki can be found at:
http://www.larswojtecki.de/Lars_Wojtecki/English.html
