PRELIMINARY STUDY OF OMENTUM TRANSPOSITION TO BRAIN FOR TREATMENT OF ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE

Objective To learn the effect of omemtum transposition to the brain of patients with Alzheimer's disease. Methods Ten consecutive patients, aged 58 - 81 years old, underwent graft of their elongated pedicled omentum onto their left frontal-temperal-parietal cerebral cortex. Those patients, who had more than five years of dementia with low mini mental-state examination (MMSE) scores of 2 -15, were diagnosed by a neurologist. All subjects underwent single photon evoked computer tomography (SPECT) pre- and post-operatively.SPECT results were analyzed semi-quantitatively by calculation of the left/right radioactivity counts symmetry index (Si). The patients were followed up to one year. The outcome was evaluated by the neurologist with a modified scale of activities of daily living (mADL) as well as the MMSE. Results Three months following the surgery,the Si of SPECT increased from ( 98. 7 ± 1.9) % to ( 103. 9 ± 2.3 ) % ( P = 0. 0307). The neurological and neuropsychological testing scores increased insignificantly during the follow-up period. By the one year, the MMSE score rose from 8. 7 ± 1.4 to 10. 7 ± 1.8 ( P ＞ 0. 05 ), while the mADL from 13.3 ± 1.8 to 16. 9 ± 2. 0 ( P ＞ 0. 05 ). One of the patients suffered a heart attack, two had epileptic episodes postoperatively. Conclusion We believe that omental transposition to the brain augments cerebral blood flow, which might be helpful to decelerate the processing of Alzheimer's disease. However, it is still a potentially risky procedure for the elderly.