Can Alzheimers Disease Be Slowed By Shunting Cerebrospinal Fluid?
ScienceDaily (Oct. 22, 2002) ST. PAUL, MN – In a first study of its kind, researchers tested the hypothesis that improving cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) turnover will slow or stop the progression of dementia in people with Alzheimer’s disease. Researchers from Stanford University, University of Washington (Seattle), and the Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix, have published the conclusions of their study in the October 22 issue of Neurology, the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology. CSF shunting for dementia was first described in 1969 and, despite early optimism, was largely abandoned due to mixed clinical results and an unacceptably high incidence of adverse events related to the shunts. Recent clinical studies in which CSF shunting was used to treat patients with symptomatic hydrocephalus demonstrated a coincidental lack of cognitive decline in patients who also had Alzheimer’s dementia.
