Can 8 months of daily tDCS application slow the cognitive decline in Alzheimer’s disease? A case study

ABSTRACT

This case study presents a patient with early-onset Alzheimer`s disease, who applied transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) daily for 8 consecutive months. This was a much higher frequency than previous tDCS studies. Neuropsychological assessments were conducted before the first tDCS session, after 5 months and after 8 months. After 8 months, the patient’s immediate recall improved with 39%, whereas delayed recall improved 23%. Overall, the results revealed that patient’s cognitive functions were stabilized. There may be slight possibility that tDCS could slow the cognitive decline in Alzheimer`s disease. This should be investigated in clinical trials.

KEYWORDS:

• Alzheimer’s disease
• transcranial direct current stimulation
• tDCS
• neuromodulation

Acknowledgment

The authors would like to thank technician Thomas Nermo for technical support and the patient for his participation.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

The study was supported by University of Tromsø, North Norway.

Notes on contributors

Martin Bystad

MB planned the study, collected data, drafted the manuscript, and analyzed the data. IDR planned the study and drafted the manuscript. OG drafted the manuscript and analyzed the data. PMA drafted the manuscript, analyzed data, and planned the study. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Ingrid Daae Rasmussen

MB planned the study, collected data, drafted the manuscript, and analyzed the data. IDR planned the study and drafted the manuscript. OG drafted the manuscript and analyzed the data. PMA drafted the manuscript, analyzed data, and planned the study. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Ole Grønli

MB planned the study, collected data, drafted the manuscript, and analyzed the data. IDR planned the study and drafted the manuscript. OG drafted the manuscript and analyzed the data. PMA drafted the manuscript, analyzed data, and planned the study. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Per M. Aslaksen

MB planned the study, collected data, drafted the manuscript, and analyzed the data. IDR planned the study and drafted the manuscript. OG drafted the manuscript and analyzed the data. PMA drafted the manuscript, analyzed data, and planned the study. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.