Transcranial direct current stimulation in patients with Alzheimer's disease: Challenges and responses

Abstract

The use of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) as a noninvasive therapeutic approach for Alzheimer's disease (AD) has gained increasing attention. Research regarding the utility of tDCS in AD is inconsistent. In this study, we reviewed the importance of individual diversity among AD patients, starting with uninformative mean results. We also demonstrated variations among AD patients. Highly educated patients seemed to benefit more from therapy; education also seems to modulate baseline measurements and results. Individual cortical morphology also affects current distribution, which influences the effectiveness of stimulation. We suggest using structural MRI to distinguish inter-individual variability; high-resolution modeling may also be used to predict current distributions and should be combined with cognitive training (CT) and tDCS.