Treatment of comorbid depression and cognitive impairment in older adults with Alzheimer’s disease using deep transcranial magnetic stimulation

Baycrest Health Sciences, Toronto, Canada

Alzheimer’s disease is an increasing issue in the aging population with 66 million dementia cases expected by 2030 and 115.4 million by 2050. Compounding this problem is the high comorbidity of depression in AD, with estimates of prevalence ranging from 20-60%. Further, depression in AD is unresponsive to standard antidepressant medications while regular TMS in the elderly population is often not possible due to the increased motor thresholds resulting from natural changes in brain morphology in this population.

The goal of this ongoing study taking place in Baycrest Health Sciences, Toronto, is to use deep TMS to treat depressive symptoms in geriatric patients with Alzheimer’s Disease and dementia. Furthermore, the study also aims to evaluate improvements in cognitive impairment following the four week treatment.

Contact information: Dr Linda Mah – lmah@research.baycrest.org