A new treatment for Alzheimer’s is shocking- literally. The first U.S. experiments with “brain pacemakers” are now underway as researchers look beyond drugs in the search for new treatments for the disease. So far, only a few dozen people with early-stage Alzheimer’s have been implanted with these brain pacemakers. Patients have to undergo brain surgery in order to implant the device, which causes constant electrical stimulation to the circuits involved in memory and thinking. The device is powered by a battery-bowered generator near the patient’s collarbone which sends tiny shocks up the patient’s neck and into his brain. The hope is that these shocks could keep the neural networks active for longer periods of time.
