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Researchers investigate auricular vagal nerve stimulation as a treatment method for patients with mild cognitive impairment due to alzheimer’s disease.
Auricular vagal nerve stimulation (AVNS) may be an effective therapeutic method to reduce cognitive impairment in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) due to Alzheimer’s disease (AD), results of a randomized-controled trial showed.
Dr. Adam Broncel, B.M.B.Ch, PhD, from Neuromedical, in Poland, presented a randomized, double-blind study that compared AVNS with placebo in patients with MCI due to AD (n=60)1. Participants in the experimental arm received AVNS during their sleep for a period of 6 months. The main outcome of the study was the Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment Scale (ADAS)-Cog score change from baseline at week 12.
After 12 weeks of therapy, the authors found a significant benefit of AVNS on ADAS-Cog score as compared with placebo (P<0.0001). Participants in the experimental arm displayed a median improvement of -7.0 points whereas participants in the placebo arm did not have an improvement in their ADAS-Cog score. The changes in Verbal Memory Probing (VMP) score from baseline showed a favorable effect of AVNS as well. “After 26 weeks of treatment, we noticed that the treatment effect of AVNS on the ADAS-Cog score was even larger, with a median improvement of -9.5 points from baseline,” Dr. Broncel mentioned.
The study showed that AVNS may be an effective method for the treatment of cognitive impairment in patients with MCI due to AD. “Its safety and ease-of-use add to the applicability of AVNS,” decided Dr. Broncel.
Medical writing support was provided by Robert van den Heuvel.
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