Our society is slowly aging and age-related diseases as a result, such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease, could become more widespread.

 

The Parkinson's disease was first described by James Parkinson in 1817 as "involuntary tremors associated with reduced muscle strength." This disease has an incidence of 93.1 in 100,000 people between 70 and 79 years of age and in the coming years we expect an incidence of 1 case per 800 people.'s disease Alzheimer's , but it's more "recent" date. In 1906, the German psychiatrist Alois Alzheimer observed that the brain of a deceased patient at the mental hospital in Frankfurt presented plaques of amyloid and neuro fibrillary nodes.

Although these diseases are known for over a century, is still far from understanding of its mechanisms.


One of the new therapies recently introduced is based on stimulation of nerve centers affected by Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease using noninvasive techniques. This idea is based on the ability of the human brain to adapt and reorganize the neurological network as necessary: the so-called neurological plasticity. Because this plasticity is present at any age, non-invasive brain stimulation therapy becomes interesting to apply in age-related degenerative diseases.

The most widely used technique (called transcranial magnetic stimulation, TMS, magnetic stimulation trascranica) uses electromagnetic fields to stimulate specific areas of the brain in patients with Alzheimer's or Parkinson's disease. Several clinical studies have shown that patients subject to improvements in the present TMS language, memorizing objects and movement, according to the areas stimulated. Although the mechanisms are still unclear, this technique, combined with classical treatments, can potentially slow the progress of Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease and improve quality of life.