Open AccessPotential of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation in Alzheimer’s Disease: Optimizing Trials Toward Clinical Use
Author(s) -
Giuseppina Pilloni,
Leigh Charvet,
Marom Bikson,
Nikhil Palekar,
Min-Jeong Kim
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
journal of clinical neurology/the journal of clinical neurology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.208
H-Index - 45
eISSN - 2005-5013
pISSN - 1738-6586
DOI - 10.3988/jcn.2022.18.4.391
Subject(s) - transcranial direct current stimulation , clinical trial , disease , brain stimulation , cognition , neuroscience , medicine , cognitive impairment , alzheimer's disease , psychology , physical medicine and rehabilitation , stimulation , pathology
Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a safe and well-tolerated noninvasive method for stimulating the brain that is rapidly developing into a treatment method for various neurological and psychiatric conditions. In particular, there is growing evidence of a therapeutic role for tDCS in ameliorating or delaying the cognitive decline in Alzheimer's disease (AD). We provide a brief overview of the current development and application status of tDCS as a nonpharmacological therapeutic method for AD and mild cognitive impairment (MCI), summarize the levels of evidence, and identify the improvements needed for clinical applications. We also suggest future directions for large-scale controlled clinical trials of tDCS in AD and MCI, and emphasize the necessity of identifying the mechanistic targets to facilitate clinical applications.