A pacemaker-like device surgically implanted into the brain may boost memory recall in some of the patients suffering Alzheimer’s disease. The pacemaker which is already available for some patients with severe Parkinson’s or depression uses deep electrodes to send continuous impulses to certain brain regions, Iranian Press TV reported. John Hopkins University researchers conducted a small trial to test the safety of the Deep brain stimulation (DBS) for six patients with Alzheimer’s. According to the findings published in the Archives of Neurology, in all of the studied patients, the device boosted the function of regions involved in memory and cognition. “The regions are not working together in concert as you would observe in normal individuals… but we were seeing an increase in brain activity. You wouldn’t see that in people with normal Alzheimer’s,” said lead author Gwen Smith.
