In the early 20th century, German neuropathologist Alois Alzheimer first discovered a case of progressive dementia, which was later named Alzheimer’s disease.
According to public information, “Alzheimer’s disease is a neurodegenerative disease with a slow onset and progressive deterioration over time.” Its etiology is still unknown, and it has become one of the major problems in the medical field.
Previously, Cognito Therapeutics unveiled its first digital therapy product for Alzheimer’s disease. The product, a non-invasive neurostimulation device using gamma frequency technology, has been certified by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a “breakthrough device” for the digital treatment of Alzheimer’s disease.
Cognito Therapeutics is a US-based clinical-stage company developing digital therapeutics for neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s.
It is reported that the company’s proprietary neuromodulation platform technology was developed by Professor Lihui Cai and Professor Edward Boyden of the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It is a non-invasive therapy for neurodegenerative diseases that treats patients with visual and auditory sensory stimulation.
Not long ago, at the 15th International Congress on Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Disease in 2021, CognitoTherapeutics announced Phase 2 data results for its latest gamma frequency neuromodulation therapy.
Gamma frequency neuromodulation is a novel digital therapy method that uses EEG-calibrated auditory and visual stimuli to evoke neural activity in patients.
Zach Marcheno, President of Cognito Therapeutics, said: “Gamma frequency neuromodulation has benefits in Alzheimer’s disease compared to traditional pharmacological approaches, which may be facilitated by a differentiated pathway. We are excited to advance gamma Clinical development of frequency neuromodulation therapy, either as a stand-alone therapy or in combination with other therapies under development for Alzheimer’s disease.” Phase
2 study of gamma frequency neuromodulation therapy lasted 6 months, using a multicenter A randomized controlled trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the therapy in people with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease during the treatment period.
This study shows that gamma frequency neuromodulation therapy is not only safe and effective, but also well tolerated.
It is understood that the study recruited 76 patients aged 50 and older with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease and randomized them to receive 40Hz non-invasive audiovisual or sham stimulation for one hour each day.
During the 6-month treatment period, the investigators used multiple validated measures to periodically assess changes in subjects’ cognition, function, and biomarkers.
In addition, the study assessed changes in brain volume in Alzheimer’s patients with mild to moderate cognitive impairment.
The findings showed that Alzheimer’s patients treated with gamma frequency neuromodulation experienced dramatic improvements in memory, cognition, brain atrophy and volume loss.
It is understood that compared with the patients in the placebo group, the patients in the treatment group in the study had a significant reduction in Alzheimer’s disease-related whole-brain atrophy and volume loss by 61%.
Placebo refers to a drug that does not have any therapeutic effect by itself. In clinical medicine research, in order to observe the efficacy of a certain drug, it is used in the control group to stabilize the patient’s mood.
Also, after 6 months of gamma frequency neuromodulation, the patients in the treatment group experienced an 84% slower decline in activities of daily living and an 83% slower decline in the Mini Mental State Examination Scale within 6 months.
”We look forward to accelerating the clinical development of gamma frequency neuromodulation, which promises to be the first disease-modifying digital therapy for Alzheimer’s disease,” said Brent Vaughn, CEO of Cognito Therapeutics
. At the International Conference of the Hammer Disease Association, Cognito Therapeutics once again presented the latest clinical research data on gamma frequency neuromodulation.
Brain atrophy in patients with Alzheimer’s disease is closely related to cognitive decline and functional loss, and is an important factor in the morbidity and mortality of Alzheimer’s disease.
Studies have shown that gamma frequency neuromodulation can significantly reduce brain atrophy in people with Alzheimer’s disease. During the 6-month treatment period, patients in the treatment group experienced a 65% reduction in total brain volume loss compared to the control group.
In addition, abnormal sleep is associated with the development and progression of Alzheimer’s disease, and improving sleep is an important approach in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. Studies have shown that people with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease have reduced active periods during nighttime sleep when treated with gamma frequency neuromodulation.
”Neurophysiological medical approaches can influence disease progression by improving memory, cognitive and functional symptoms, and reducing brain atrophy, and this demonstration of improved nighttime sleep in Alzheimer’s patients provides a new perspective for us,” Vaughan said. Altering the mechanism of the disease in the patient population provides further support. This is an important milestone and we look forward to expanding the clinical validation of Cognito Therapeutics in pivotal Alzheimer’s studies.”
