Neurotechnological Approaches to the Diagnosis and Treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease

Abstract

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia in the elderly, clinically defined by progressive cognitive decline and pathologically, by brain atrophy, neuroinflammation, and accumulation of extracellular amyloid plaques and intracellular neurofibrillary tangles. Neurotechnological approaches, including optogenetics and deep brain stimulation, have exploded as new tools for not only the study of the brain but also for application in the treatment of neurological diseases. Here, we review the current state of AD therapeutics and recent advancements in both invasive and non-invasive neurotechnologies that can be used to ameliorate AD pathology, including neurostimulation via optogenetics, photobiomodulation, electrical stimulation, ultrasound stimulation, and magnetic neurostimulation, as well as nanotechnologies employing nanovectors, magnetic nanoparticles, and quantum dots. We also discuss the current challenges in developing these neurotechnological tools and the prospects for implementing them in the treatment of AD and other neurodegenerative diseases.

Eye-tracking paradigms for the assessment of mild cognitive impairment: a systematic review

“…Although this review does not aim to list all the advantages and shortcomings of the currently applied ‘traditional pen-and paper’ tests, note that inherent drawbacks of such tools have led to a concerted research effort to identify alternate diagnostic methods ( Sonnen et al, 2008 ; Sabbagh et al, 2020b ; Chen et al, 2021 ; Ning et al, 2022 ). For example, to confirm AD physicians may use a variety of approaches and tools, including blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers ( Galasko, 2015 ; Hameed et al, 2020 ).…”

“…Hence, to accelerate the transition toward a globally accessible screening procedure for MCI ( Sabbagh et al, 2020c , 2022 ; Liss et al, 2021 ), recent studies evaluating the potential utility of gaze metrics in the detection and characterization of MCI have been reviewed and discussed. Considering the multiple advantages of eye-tracking technology, it is hoped that presented compilation of impactful studies presented here, will spark interest among clinicians and foster future collaborations between neuroscience and machine learning, leading to an improved characterization of individuals along the Alzheimer’s disease trajectory ( Lagun et al, 2011 ; Zola et al, 2013 ; Wolf et al, 2021a ; Ning et al, 2022 ; Przybyszewski et al, 2023 ).…”

Transcranial magneto-acoustic stimulation improves spatial memory and modulates hippocampal neural oscillations in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease

“…TMAS is a non-invasive focused neuromodulation technique with the advantages of precision and depth of focused ultrasound stimulation (Zhang et al, 2018 ; Ning et al, 2022 ; Xie et al, 2022 ). TMAS combines the ultrasonic field with the electric field generated by the magneto-acoustic coupling, and the stimulation intensity can be regulated by the ultrasonic parameters.…”

Lipid nanoparticle mediated small interfering RNA delivery as a potential therapy for Alzheimer's disease

“…Accumulation of Aβ, pro-inflammatory reactions, and APOE/KCNA3 activation may occur (Reprinted from (Lau et al, 2023), Copyright 2023, Nature, Distributed under a creative commons license CC BY 4.0). Ning et al, 2022;Wilson et al, 2010) memantine are used to treat symptoms and slow down cognitive decline. They work by either increasing levels of neurotransmitters or protecting neurons from excitotoxicity.…”