Kamoga Ronald, Rukundo Godfrey Zari, Kalungi Samuel, Adriko Wilson, Nakidde Gladys, Obua Celestino, Obongoloch Johnes, Ihunwo Amadi Ogonda
Department of Anatomy, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, P.O. Box 1410, Mbarara, Uganda.
Department of Psychiatry, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, P.O.Box 1410, Mbarara, Uganda.
AIMS Neurosci. 2024 Sep 27;11(3):398-420. doi: 10.3934/Neuroscience.2024024. eCollection 2024.
Dementia is a prevalent, progressive, neurodegenerative condition with multifactorial causes. Due to the lack of effective pharmaceutical treatments for dementia, there are growing clinical and research interests in using vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) as a potential non-pharmacological therapy for dementia. However, the extent of the research volume and nature into the effects of VNS on dementia is not well understood. This study aimed to examine the extent and nature of research activities in relation to the use of VNS in dementia and disseminate research findings for the potential utility in dementia care.
We performed a scoping review of literature searches in PubMed, HINARI, Google Scholar, and the Cochrane databases from 1980 to November 30th, 2023, including the reference lists of the identified studies. The following search terms were utilized: brain stimulation, dementia, Alzheimer's disease, vagal stimulation, memory loss, Deme*, cognit*, VNS, and Cranial nerve stimulation. The included studies met the following conditions: primary research articles pertaining to both humans and animals for both longitudinal and cross-sectional study designs and published in English from January 1st, 1980, to November 30th, 2023; investigated VNS in either dementia or cognitive impairment; and were not case studies, conference proceedings/abstracts, commentaries, or ordinary review papers.
We identified 8062 articles, and after screening for eligibility (sequentially by titles, abstracts and full text reading, and duplicate removal), 10 studies were included in the review. All the studies included in this literature review were conducted over the last three decades in high-income geographical regions (i.e., Europe, the United States, the United Kingdom, and China), with the majority of them (7/10) being performed in humans. The main reported outcomes of VNS in the dementia cases were enhanced cognitive functions, an increased functional connectivity of various brain regions involved in learning and memory, microglial structural modifications from neurodestructive to neuroprotective configurations, a reduction of cerebral spinal fluid tau-proteins, and significant evoked brain tissue potentials that could be utilized to diagnose neurodegenerative disorders. The study outcomes highlight the potential for VNS to be used as a non-pharmacological therapy for cognitive impairment in dementia-related diseases such as Alzheimer's disease.
痴呆症是一种常见的、进行性的神经退行性疾病，病因多方面。由于缺乏有效的痴呆症药物治疗方法，将迷走神经刺激（VNS）作为痴呆症潜在的非药物治疗方法的临床和研究兴趣日益增加。然而，VNS对痴呆症影响的研究数量和性质尚不清楚。本研究旨在探讨与VNS在痴呆症中的应用相关的研究活动的范围和性质，并传播研究结果，以探讨其在痴呆症护理中的潜在效用。
我们对1980年至2023年11月30日期间在PubMed、HINARI、谷歌学术和Cochrane数据库中进行的文献检索进行了范围综述，包括已识别研究的参考文献列表。使用了以下检索词：脑刺激、痴呆症、阿尔茨海默病、迷走神经刺激、记忆丧失、Deme*、cognit*、VNS和颅神经刺激。纳入的研究符合以下条件：1980年1月1日至2023年11月30日期间以英文发表的关于纵向和横断面研究设计的人类和动物的原发性研究文章；研究了痴呆症或认知障碍中的VNS；且不是病例研究、会议论文集/摘要、评论或普通综述文章。
我们识别出8062篇文章，经过资格筛选（依次通过标题、摘要和全文阅读以及去除重复项），10项研究纳入综述。本综述纳入的所有研究均在过去三十年内在高收入地理区域（即欧洲、美国、英国和中国）进行，其中大多数（7/10）是在人类中进行的。在痴呆症病例中，VNS报告的主要结果包括认知功能增强、参与学习和记忆的各个脑区功能连接增加、小胶质细胞结构从神经破坏型转变为神经保护型、脑脊液tau蛋白减少以及可用于诊断神经退行性疾病的显著诱发脑组织电位。研究结果突出了VNS作为阿尔茨海默病等痴呆症相关疾病认知障碍非药物治疗方法的潜力。
