Zapping the brain with electricity twice a day could help to fight Alzheimer’s disease.
Zapping the brain could hold the key to beating Alzheimer's disease
Researchers from Ningbo University in China put a low-intensity current through the brains of patients suffering from mild to moderate dementia and compared them to a control group that received a bogus treatment.
All 63 patients showed improved skills in word recall and recognition after six weeks, compared to none in the control group.
Scientists have theorised that the non-invasive and painless therapy – known as transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) - "fires up" the brain's ability to change and enables "rewiring" in the organ.
Electrodes were placed on the prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain used for planning, decision-making and memory.
The team say that the results "strongly indicate" that the treatment is a "significant and promising intervention for improving cognitive function".