Therapeutics

COGNIShunt™

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Overview

Name: COGNIShunt™
Therapy Type: Procedural Intervention
Target Type: Other (timeline)
Condition(s): Alzheimer's Disease
U.S. FDA Status: Alzheimer's Disease (Inactive)
Approved for: None

Background

The accumulation of amyloid plaques, neurofibrillary tangles, and neurodegeneration is thought to be due at least in part to the failure to clear circulating soluble Aβ and tau. CSF shunts have been used for decades to treat hydrocephalus, and were proposed as a possible way to clear toxic species from the body, especially because aging is associated with reduced CSF turnover (May et al., 1990). Early reports had also suggested some improvement in patients with comorbid hydrocephalus and AD who were treated with a shunt (Savolainen et al., 1999). The working hypothesis behind this approach is that slow and continuous depletion of CSF may improve dementia symptoms by removing toxic species in the CSF, including Aβ, tau, and oxidized proteins.

Last Updated: 09 Jan 2014

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References

Paper Citations

  1. May C, Kaye JA, Atack JR, Schapiro MB, Friedland RP, Rapoport SI. Cerebrospinal fluid production is reduced in healthy aging. Neurology. 1990 Mar;40(3 Pt 1):500-3. PubMed.
  2. Savolainen S, Paljärvi L, Vapalahti M. Prevalence of Alzheimer's disease in patients investigated for presumed normal pressure hydrocephalus: a clinical and neuropathological study. Acta Neurochir (Wien). 1999;141(8):849-53. PubMed.

Further Reading

No Available Further Reading