1. John Paquet III BME 181 S01 04 March 2013

2.  Deteriorates memory, cognition, and behavioral abilities  Progressively worsens with age  Memory loss, difficulty sleeping, uncontrollable behavior, confusion  Cannot be cured, prevented, or slowed

3.  Affects 5.4 million people in US  6 th leading cause of death in US  3 rd costliest disease in US for healthcare costs

5.  Fornix ◦ Memory  Frontal lobe ◦ Behavior and cognition  Junctions of cognition, behavior, and memory pathways ◦ To reduce impact of plaques

6.  Few tests thus far, but promising results  Find certain letters/shapes among many on paper ◦ With pacemaker off, found a couple ◦ After period of constant stimulation, found 30  Pilot trial of 6 patients in Canada ◦ After year of continuous stimulation:  improved memory  Significantly more brain activity

7.  Normal risks of brain surgery  Complications if parts break or move around  Dizziness, speech or vision issues, others ◦ Potentially reversible  Treatment of AD with DBS may cost $50-100k for insurance ◦ May come down by time treatment is available

8.  Current drugs have been ineffective  DBS could help people with early-stage or mild AD ◦ Much of connectivity remains  Potential for reviving circuitry in the brain provides hope amidst the Alzheimer’s epidemic

9.  Alzheimer's Association. 2012 Alzheimer's disease facts and figures. Alzheimer's and Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer's Association. March 2012; 8:131–168.  “Alzheimer’s disease.” A.D.A.M. Medical Encyclopedia. U.S. National Library of Medicine, 26 Sept. 2011  “Deep Brain Stimulation.” CNS Diseases. 2013  “Deep brain stimulation.” MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia. U.S National Library of Medicine. U.S. National Library of Medicine, 27 Feb. 2013  “Deep brain stimulation.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 03 Jan. 2013 http://en.wikipedia. org/wiki/Deep_brain_stimulation>  “Electric brain stimulation may treat Alzheimer's.” CBSNews. CBS Interactive, 21 Jan. 2013  “Ohio State Implants First Brain Pacemaker To Treat Alzheimer's.” The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, 22 Jan. 2013  “Pacemaker-like device studied in Alzheimer's treatment.” CBSNews. CBS Interactive, 6 Dec. 2012