FM DECEMBER 2018 ISSUE - digital edition

Transcranial stimulation to treat low back pain
Sangtae Ahn et al reported that
targeting a specific part of the brain
with a weak alternating current of
electricity significantly decreased chronic
lower back pain (CLBP) in all participants
of a small clinical trial. This treatment,
known as Transcranial Alternating Current
Stimulation (tACS), was used in a group
of 20 patients based on the hypothesis
that naturally occurring alpha oscillations
associated with the thalamo-cortical
activity pattern in the human brain are
impaired in chronic pain and can be
modulated. All patients were suffering
from CLBP and were subjected to
tACS and sham stimulation in different
sessions. In one session the researchers
targeted the somatosensory region using
tACS to enhance the naturally occurring
alpha-waves. The other session provided
a weak untargeted electrical current
for a placebo effect. The patients could
not differentiate both the sessions. The
findings revealed significantly
enhanced alpha oscillations in
the somatosensory regionon
stimulation withalpha-tACS
compared to placebo
stimulation. The results, as
recorded with EEG, were
correlated with pain
relief, giving successful
target identification.
Researchers plan
on conducting
a larger study
to discover the
effects of multiple
tACS sessions,
suggesting that it may
provide a non-invasive
therapeutic benefit for
other brain associated
disorders as well.
The Journal of Pain DOI: https://doi.
org/10.1016/j.jpain.2018.09.004
compounds found in brewed coffee to
alter the aggregation profile of amyloidbeta,
tau and alpha-synuclein found
associated with dementia. Three different
types of coffee including light roast,
dark roast, and decaffeinated dark roast
and six different coffee components
were analysed in the study. Of the
various coffee components investigated,
phenylindane was the only compound
found to be a potent inhibitor of both
amyloid-beta and tau aggregation, unlike
other components. The study is the first
to report on the aggregation inhibition
activity of phenylindane for Ab, tau and
a-synuclein. The researchers are currently
involved in a further investigation on the
cell and animal models for AD and PD
based on the promising observations of
the study.
Frontiers in Neuroscience, 2018; 12 October
2018DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2018.00735
Neck scan detects
early chances of
dementia
Researchers from University College
London (UCL) have found that a
five-minute scan of blood vessels in
the neck could predict the potential
onset of dementia a decade before the
appearance of any apparent symptoms.
Led by Professor John Deanfield, the
team of international researchers
studied a group of 3,191 middle-aged
volunteers who were given an ultrasound
to measure the intensity of the pulse
reaching their brain from the heart via
the neck. Over the next 15 years, the
participants were monitored for their
memory and problem-solving ability.
Participants whose blood reached
their brain with the highest intensity
(25%) at the beginning of the study
showed 50% higher risk of developing
cognitive decline over next decade
compared to the rest of the participants.
The research claims to reveal the first
direct link between the heart's pulse
transmitted towards the brain and
future impairments in cognitive function.
The research suggests that adopting a
healthy lifestyle controlling the blood
pressure and cholesterol levels is the way
to help stave off vascular dementia. The
researchers proclaim that the scan could
become a routine screening programme
for people at risk of developing dementia
once it is confirmed in larger studies.
University College London https://www.ucl.ac.uk/
news/news-articles/1118/121118-neck-scan-
Alzheimers
—Compiled by Divya Choyikutty
DECEMBER 2018 / FUTURE MEDICINE / 53