Effects of Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS) on Self-Efficacy and Mood in Elderly with Mild Cognitive Impairment

Abstract

In previous studies, transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) R ecent reviews indicate that the clinical hallmark of patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is impaired memory in combination with a preservation of general cognition and activities of daily life.1,2 This type of MCI has also been called "amnestic" MCI 2 or "singledomain" MCI 3 and is probably caused by degeneration of various structures of the medial temporal lobe such as the hippocampus, the parahippo-campus, the entorhinal cor-tex, and the perirhinal cortex. 4 As opposed to single-domain MCI, patients with MCI may also show additional impairments in other cognitive functions, for example, orientation. 5,6 Patients with this type of MCI-called "multi-domain" MCI-have an even higher risk of developing probable Alzheimer's disease (AD) than those with single-domain MCI. Support for multi-domain MCI emerges from the finding that following the involvement of the medial temporal lobe, 4 the prefrontal cortex is also involved in MCI. [7][8][9] Indeed, an increased choline acetyltransferase (ChaT) activity has been observed in both the hippocampus and the frontal cortex of patients with MCI.10 This finding suggests a compensatory upregulation of the cholinergic system. The prefrontal cortex has been associated with executive functions such as planning, taking initiatives, and purposeful action/goal-directed behavior.11 In view of the nature of executive functions, it is logical that they are related to an individual's independent functioning. Specifically, executive functions appear to be a strong predictor for performance of (instrumental) activities of daily living. 12,13 In addition to a frontal lobe dysfunction as observed in MCI associated with decline in independent functioning, the institutional environment of a residential home for the elderly might augment an elderly resident's decline in independent functioning, irrespective of cognitive impairment. Richardson et al. 14 observed that a 1-year institutionalization caused an increase in functional limitations and a decrease in activities of daily living in about one third of the residents. Indeed, instrumental daily activities such as shopping, preparing meals, and cleaning the room are not required anymore in a residential home for the

Peripheral electrical nerve stimulation and rest‐activity rhythm in Alzheimer's disease

“…This nocebo response may have been counterbalanced in the experimental group by the positive influence of the real treatment. We also report a temporary worsening of the same type of treatment in a different group of subjects in another paper by our group (Luijpen et al. , 2004) which points in the direction of a true effect rather than unreliable data.…”

Treatment for mild cognitive impairment: systematic review

“…The first found that transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) treatment reduced activities of daily living impairment and depression over 6 weeks in the only trial we reviewed that did not measure cognition. 39 The second trial found that in 3-month trials, memantine improved information processing speed but not cognition. 52 The third found that a nutritional supplement composed of: DHA 720 mg, EPA 286 mg, vitamin E 16 mg, soy phospholipids 160 mg, tryptophan 95 mg and melatonin 5 mg 40 improved cognition.…”

“…Included studies recruited people with MCI via clinics or clinician referrals, [17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28] advertisements, 24,29-34 screening older populations, 21,[35][36][37][38] care homes, 23,[39][40][41] the local Alzheimer's society, 34 pre-existing research registers, 31,42 a rehabilitation centre 43 or a welfare institution. 25 Several did not report the source of participants 11,15,[44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51][52] Tables DS1 and DS2 describe funding sources, inclusion criteria, sample sizes, comparators and the duration of studies.…”

Nonpharmacological Therapies in Alzheimer’s Disease: A Systematic Review of Efficacy

“…The number of randomized participants ranged from 8 [68] to 7,949 [166] , and intervention duration varied from a few minutes (i.e. short single sessions) [51,52,152] to 11 years [184] . A chronological perspective shows an exponential increase in the number of RCTs ( fig.…”