Second Expert Meeting on Transcranial Pulse Stimulation (TPS): Research results, trends and exchange of ideas
On 18 November 2023, neurologists and psychiatrists from 14 countries met up at the second international TPS expert meeting in the German town of Konstanz (by Lake Constance) to discuss the use of Transcranial Pulse Stimulation as an additional therapy option for patients with Alzheimer’s disease. Top-class lectures presented milestones and current study results. This series of events aims to promote the continuous international exchange of knowledge on Transcranial Pulse Stimulation.
Real world data on side effects and symptom improvements
To date, more than 9,500 patients with Alzheimer’s have been treated with Transcranial Pulse Stimulation in about 75,000 sessions worldwide. Previous surveys and studies show the good tolerability of TPS.
Prof. Lars Wojtecki (Hospital zum Heiligen Geist Kempen; Düsseldorf University Hospital) gave a lecture on the clinical use of TPS in patients with Alzheimer’s. The data he presented of 11 patients demonstrated a similar picture to the survey: TPS treatment was well tolerated, and side effects from TPS were rare (in 4% of sessions) and only temporary. Improvements were documented in all patients. Some patients showed minor improvements, while the most significant improvement in one patient was 40%.
Improving quality of life and relieving burden for relatives
Dr Mohamed Abdelghani (Nurify Medical Clinics, London, UK) discussed the role of neurostimulation techniques in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, with a specific case to describe an example of the use of TPS. For several years, a 73-year-old male patient of Dr Abdelghani had increasing memory problems, especially regarding short-term memory. There were already several cases of Alzheimer’s disease in his family and he was also ultimately diagnosed with »late onset Alzheimer’s disease« (occurring after the age of 65).
The first TPS treatment series considerably improved the patient’s memory capacity, and this was reflected in improved test results and confirmed by the patient’s son. Three months after TPS, the patient’s cognitive abilities began to deteriorate again, so a second TPS treatment series was performed. Subsequently, Dr Abdelghani once again documented considerably improved cognitive abilities. The patient’s son and his wife reported subjective improvements in memory and communication skills as well as generally shorter reaction times. As a result of the patient’s improved quality of life and independence, the burden on his relatives was also relieved, said Dr Abdelghani.
Use of TPS at the wahrendorff hospital in Hanover
Prof. Marc Ziegenbein (Medical Director and Head Physician at Wahrendorff Hospital, Hanover) spoke about the new perspectives offered by TPS for the treatment of patients with Alzheimer’s disease. Prof. Ziegenbein and his team use TPS to treat people with Alzheimer’s as early as possible. To assess the use of TPS, he is currently conducting an observation, which focuses on cognitive performance and the severity of depressive symptoms during the treatment period. Prof. Ziegenbein reported that the majority of patients have no side effects at all. The results to date are promising, even though the final assessment and analysis are still pending.
Artificial intelligence to improve TPS treatment monitoring
Finally, Dr Ali Riza Günes (Alexius/Josef Hospital, Neuss, Germany) gave an exciting lecture showing how Artificial Intelligence (AI) could be used to improve the monitoring of TPS treatment. In particular, AI-assisted speech analyses (speech rate, speech flow, density of vocabulary, grammatical structure, etc.) will become increasingly significant in the future.
Experts see TPS on the right track
The expert meeting came to an optimistic conclusion: According to the assessment of the neurologists and psychiatrists at the meeting, neurostimulation methods will become increasingly important in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease in the near future. The experts see TPS on the right track. However, further studies with even bigger patient numbers are required in addition to general basic research, in order to further enrich TPS evidence.
A meeting on a TPS study initiated by Prof. Wojtecki already took place on the evening before the expert meeting (»Multicentre prospective data collection on Transcranial Pulse Stimulation (TPS) treatment in patients with Alzheimer’s disease«). This study is to include a total of more than 100 patients and a follow-up period of 12 months. Eight TPS treatment centres have registered to take part in this study.
The next TPS expert meeting will take place in spring 2024.
Source: TPS expert meeting; Konstanz, Germany; STORZ MEDICAL AG; 18 November 2023.
