JOHNS HOPKINS UNVERSITY, MARYLAND, USA. Having a pacemaker implant on your chest may not be your typical day at the park. However, this method has actually saved a lot of people with different heart conditions through the years. Just recently, a similar device has been developed by some researchers at the Johns Hopkins University that will be beneficial to patients with Alzheimer’s disease. This new device is supposed to work as a pacemaker for the patient’s brain.

The researchers of the study were able to successfully implant this device which is similar to a pacemaker that is supposed to bring deep brain stimulation (DBS) to help reverse the effects of Alzheimer’s disease such as cognitive degeneration and memory loss. More commonly, this treatment is actually being used to treat patients who are suffering from Parkinson’s disease.

Headed by Professor Paul B. Rosenberg, the doctors implant an Activa PC Neurostimulator into the chest of the patient. This is connected by small wires which are referred to as “leads” that run through the brain of the patient, passing through the holes in the skull. Once it has been implanted successfully, it sends out small electrical pulses (approximately 130 every second) to keep the hippocampus stable. This is the section of the brain where memories are made. At the same time, this is also where Alzheimer’s disease shows its earliest symptoms.

The study was the result of many recent failures in attempting to use drugs to treat Alzheimer’s disease. The need for new and better alternative strategies in treating the disease has led to this medical breakthrough which could soon help control the once untreatable disease.