--- title: "Psych News Alert: Deep Brain Stimulation Studied in Alzheimer's Patients" description: Although many initiatives to conquer Alzheimer's disease focus on amyloid plaques in the  brain, Andres Lozano, M.D., Ph.D., chair of ne... image: https://alert.psychnews.org/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/scientist%20pointing%20to%20brain%20image_26045389-Jun-24-2025-10-24-19-8086-PM.jpg --- 10/22/12 12:00 AM # Deep Brain Stimulation Studied in Alzheimer's Patients ![Picture of Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Psych%20News%20Email%20Banners/PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png?width=50&name=PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png) [ Psychiatric News Alert ](https://alert.psychnews.org/author/psychiatric-news-alert) Share: [facebook-f icon ](http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https://alert.psychnews.org/2012/10/deep-brain-stimulation-studied-in.html) [linkedin-in icon ](http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://alert.psychnews.org/2012/10/deep-brain-stimulation-studied-in.html) [Twitter icon ](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https://alert.psychnews.org/2012/10/deep-brain-stimulation-studied-in.html) [pinterest-p icon ](http://pinterest.com/pin/create/link/?url=https://alert.psychnews.org/2012/10/deep-brain-stimulation-studied-in.html) [envelope icon ](mailto:?body=https://alert.psychnews.org/2012/10/deep-brain-stimulation-studied-in.html) | [![](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/scientist%20pointing%20to%20brain%20image_26045389-Jun-24-2025-10-24-20-9057-PM.jpg?width=200&height=141&name=scientist%20pointing%20to%20brain%20image_26045389-Jun-24-2025-10-24-20-9057-PM.jpg)](https://alert.psychnews.org/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/scientist%20pointing%20to%20brain%20image_26045389-Jun-24-2025-10-24-20-9057-PM.jpg) | | | --- | --- | Although many initiatives to conquer Alzheimer's disease focus on amyloid plaques in the  brain, Andres Lozano, M.D., Ph.D., chair of neurosurgery at the University of Toronto, is concentrating on a different strategy—deep brain stimulation (DBS). He and his colleagues tested the hypothesis that DBS would increase cerebral glucose metabolism and lead to better clinical outcomes in five subjects with mild, probable Alzhemer's. And their results  confirmed their hypothesis, they reported in the September *Archives of Neurology. *"We are  conducting an NIH-funded phase 2 trial of DBS in Alzheimer's, and we plan on enrolling 50 patients," Lozano told *Psychiatric News.* DBS is already approved for treating refractory Parkinson's disease and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Before long it may be approved for treating refractory depression as well. For more information on DBS research, see *Psychiatric News* [here](http://psychnews.psychiatryonline.org/newsarticle.aspx?articleid=1182486) and [here](http://psychnews.psychiatryonline.org/newsarticle.aspx?articleid=108650)*.* Read about DBS in Tourette's syndrome in the [*American Journal of Psychiatry*.](http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/article.aspx?articleid=1213770)   (Image: fotohunter/Shutterstock.com) [Alzheimer's disease](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/alzheimers-disease), [obsessive-compulsive disorder](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/obsessive-compulsive-disorder), [deep brain stimulation](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/deep-brain-stimulation), [Parkinson's disease](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/parkinsons-disease) ## Related posts [![](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Alzheimers%20puzzle_58936477-Jun-24-2025-03-23-36-2219-PM.jpg?height=200&name=Alzheimers%20puzzle_58936477-Jun-24-2025-03-23-36-2219-PM.jpg) ](https://alert.psychnews.org/2012/05/experts-gather-to-map-alzheimer.html) ## [Experts Gather to Map Alzheimer's Research Agenda](https://alert.psychnews.org/2012/05/experts-gather-to-map-alzheimer.html) ![Picture of Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Psych%20News%20Email%20Banners/PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png?width=50&name=PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png) [Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/author/psychiatric-news-alert) 5/15/12 12:00 AM [ Read more ](https://alert.psychnews.org/2012/05/experts-gather-to-map-alzheimer.html) [![](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Older%20hands_iStock-521224528-Jun-24-2025-03-30-27-3552-PM.jpg?height=200&name=Older%20hands_iStock-521224528-Jun-24-2025-03-30-27-3552-PM.jpg) ](https://alert.psychnews.org/2017/07/alzheimers-disease-may-be-more-likely.html) [Alzheimer's disease](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/alzheimers-disease), [psychosis](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/psychosis), [Lewy body dementia](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/lewy-body-dementia), [vascular dementia](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/vascular-dementia), [Corinne Fischer](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/corinne-fischer), [National Alzheimer's Coordinating Center](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/national-alzheimers-coordinating-center), [cholinesterase inhibitors](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/cholinesterase-inhibitors) ## [Alzheimer’s Disease May Be More Likely to Be Missed in Patients With Psychosis](https://alert.psychnews.org/2017/07/alzheimers-disease-may-be-more-likely.html) ![Picture of Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Psych%20News%20Email%20Banners/PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png?width=50&name=PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png) [Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/author/psychiatric-news-alert) 7/7/17 12:00 AM About one in four cases of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is misdiagnosed, according to a study published... [ Read more ](https://alert.psychnews.org/2017/07/alzheimers-disease-may-be-more-likely.html) [![](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Alzheimer%3Bs%20brain_116741158-Jun-24-2025-05-40-02-3448-PM.jpg?height=200&name=Alzheimer%3Bs%20brain_116741158-Jun-24-2025-05-40-02-3448-PM.jpg) ](https://alert.psychnews.org/2013/05/gene-deactivation-finding-may-be-clue.html) [Alzheimer's disease](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/alzheimers-disease) ## [Gene-Deactivation Finding May Be Clue in Alzheimer's Puzzle](https://alert.psychnews.org/2013/05/gene-deactivation-finding-may-be-clue.html) ![Picture of Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Psych%20News%20Email%20Banners/PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png?width=50&name=PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png) [Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/author/psychiatric-news-alert) 5/6/13 12:00 AM A novel approach to treating Alzheimer's disease (AD) is suggested by research headed by Rudolph... [ Read more ](https://alert.psychnews.org/2013/05/gene-deactivation-finding-may-be-clue.html) ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Psychiatric News Alert", "url" : "https://alert.psychnews.org/author/psychiatric-news-alert" }, "dateModified" : "2025-06-24T22:28:46.343Z", "datePublished" : "2012-10-22T04:00:00.000Z", "headline" : "Psych News Alert: Deep Brain Stimulation Studied in Alzheimer's Patients", "image" : [ "https://alert.psychnews.org/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/scientist%20pointing%20to%20brain%20image_26045389-Jun-24-2025-10-24-19-8086-PM.jpg" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://alert.psychnews.org/2012/10/deep-brain-stimulation-studied-in.html", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://alert.psychnews.org/hubfs/PN-Blue-Box.jpg" } } } ```