Transcranial Pulse Stimulation (TPS): Research on Long-Covid and Alzheimer’s dementia in Spain
New studies in Spain expand the scientific knowledge of TPS
Non-invasive brain stimulation methods such as transcranial pulse stimulation (TPS) are becoming increasingly important in neurology and psychiatry. The TPS shockwave method has proven to be particularly effective and safe in the treatment of Alzheimer’s dementia, shows promising long-term results and is now the subject of intensive research worldwide. With new placebo-controlled studies and studies on Long-Covid and Alzheimer’s dementia, the therapeutic potential of TPS has also begun to be investigated in Spain and its benefits clinically documented.
TPS for Long-Covid: Possible additive treatment option for neurological symptoms
Many people worldwide suffer from the long-term effects of a COVID-19 infection, known as Long-Covid or Post-Acute Sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 Infection (PASC). Neurological symptoms in particular, often referred to as neuro-Covid, are widespread and can lead to a significant impairment of quality of life. The most common and distressing symptoms include fatigue and “brain fog”, i.e. cognitive impairments that can be attributed to dysfunction of the nervous system or can affect the brain due to persistent inflammation following SARS-CoV-2 infection.
In field trials, transcranial pulse stimulation (TPS) has already shown that the influence of shock waves can have a positive effect on post-Covid and neuro-Covid symptoms. Alongside other institutions conducting research into Long-Covid and TPS, the Clínica DKF in Madrid is currently conducting a double-blind, placebo-controlled study with TPS together with the Autonomous University of Madrid, Department of Biological and Health Psychology.
The study includes 34 subjects with diagnosed post-Covid disease aged between 18 and 75 years. In addition to MRIs, Trail Making Test, Symbol-Digit Modalities Test (SDMT), PASAT, Stroop Test, Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS), Modified Fatigue Impact Scale (MFIS), Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), EuroQoL-5D Health/Quality of Life Questionnaire and the Presence of fatigue sequelae: FSS scale were used for neuropsychological assessment.
Based on the results obtained to date, the researchers assume that patients with neurological post-Covid syndromes can benefit significantly from TPS shock wave therapy and see it as a potentially effective method for effectively treating these new diseases for which there are as yet no adequate treatment options. The poster on the study was presented at the AD/PD Conference in Lisbon, Portugal, in early March 2024.
Controlled observation of TPS use in Alzheimer’s dementia: Spaniards confirm efficacy
Clínica DKF and the Autonomous University of Madrid have also achieved results in clinical studies on Alzheimer’s dementia that confirm previous studies and data from other institutions on the benefits of transcranial pulse stimulation (TPS). 38 subjects suffering from mild to moderate Alzheimer’s dementia (61 to 89 years old) were divided into two groups, with 19 of the patients actually being treated with TPS. In order to compare the effect of the treatment with the natural course of the disease, the data of 19 control patients who had not received TPS treatment were included retrospectively. The safety, tolerability and cognitive and clinical effects of TPS therapy compared to control participants were evaluated three months later using various methods such as MMSE, CERAD, MoCA, etc.
Results: In 74 percent of patients, the condition improved and/or remained stable
Three months after the TPS treatment, 42 percent of the test subjects showed improved values in the follow-up examination, in 32 percent the condition remained stable and in 26 percent there was a slight deterioration in the MoCA test. In the area of episodic memory, 38 percent showed an improvement in performance, in a further 38 percent the performance remained unchanged and in the remaining 25 percent of patients the condition deteriorated further.
According to the researchers, it is particularly noteworthy that in the area of depressive symptoms, three of the patients treated with TPS achieved a relevant reduction in the burden of depression and a further 6.7 percent experienced an improvement. While only 11 percent of TPS patients experienced a worsening of their depressive situation, all control patients without TPS experienced deterioration in all areas assessed.
The posters for the two studies from Spain are available here:
