title: The neurosurgical treatment of Alzheimer's disease: a review.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a debilitating neurological illness of increasing prevalence. Because many patients are affected and current treatments have limited effectiveness, other therapeutic strategies are urgently needed.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  Here we provide a review of the neurosurgical approaches that have been attempted or are currently being investigated for the treatment of AD.
  
  
  METHODS
  Computerized database searches identified all of the published studies in the English-language literature examining the surgical treatment of AD since 1950.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The following 5 categories of neurosurgical treatment were identified: cerebrospinal fluid shunting, intraventricular infusions, tissue grafting, gene therapy, and electrical neural stimulation.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  While none of the neurosurgical approaches applied to the treatment of AD have proven effective to date, recent trials involving gene therapy and electrical neural stimulation are showing promising early results. Larger trials investigating these treatments have been proposed or are currently under way.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, Wake Forest University, Winston Salem, N.C., USA.
authors.forename: Adrian W
authors.initials: AW
authors.lastname: Laxton
authors.forename: Scellig
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Stone
authors.forename: Andres M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Lozano
mesh_terms: D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000601:surgery / Q000628:therapy*; D001921:Brain / Q000601:surgery*; D002557:Cerebrospinal Fluid Shunts; D004599:Electric Stimulation Therapy; D015316:Genetic Therapy; D006801:Humans; D016896:Treatment Outcome