rTMS as a Treatment of Alzheimer's Disease with and without Comorbidity of Depression: A Review

Grant Rutherford; Rebecca Gole; Zahra Moussavi

doi:10.1155/2013/679389

rTMS as a Treatment of Alzheimer's Disease with and without Comorbidity of Depression: A Review

Neurosci J. 2013:2013:679389. doi: 10.1155/2013/679389. Epub 2013 Feb 7.

Authors

Grant Rutherford¹, Rebecca Gole², Zahra Moussavi³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada R3T 5V6 ; Graduate Program in Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada R3T 5V6.
² Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada R3T 5V6.
³ Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada R3T 5V6 ; Graduate Program in Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada R3T 5V6 ; Riverview Health Center, 1 Morley Avenue, Winnipeg, MB, Canada R3L 2P4.

Abstract

With an ever-increasing population of Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients worldwide, a noninvasive treatment for AD is needed. In this paper, the application of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulus (rTMS) as a treatment for patients with probable AD is compared to the application of rTMS as a treatment for depression. Comorbidity of depression and dementia is discussed, as well as possible links between the two diseases. The possible confounding antidepressant effects of rTMS on cognitive improvements in AD patients are discussed.

Publication types

Review