TPS-Therapy - Testimonial 8

The back story: O. K. is a now 77-year-old lady who has been happily married to her husband J. K. for over 50 years and lives in North Rhine-Westphalia. The two have two grown sons who live with their wives and grandchildren close, but not around the corner. The couple had led a busy but good life since they came to Germany from Macedonia in the early 1970s. Husband J. K. was a machinist, O. K. worked as a cleaner. Together they raised their children and with their daughters-in-law and grandchildren they are now an extended family.

O. K. had been a well-balanced, albeit quiet and rather reserved, sometimes rather anxious woman all her life, who had taken care of her family and friends with a big heart. Nothing was too much for her, she was always there for everyone, generous and helpful. She had never been seriously ill, but her soul had suffered for years: The lasting suffering appeared in the form of a supervisor at O. K.’s workplace who was so bossy and mean that for years O. K. only went to work full of fear and had to experience daily harassment. Of course, she could have given up, but this was not in keeping with her character. She wanted to persevere, not to burden the family, and so she continued to work under these circumstances until she retired. However, in the last years of work, the first signs that something was wrong were already forming.

A creeping disease process and a late diagnosis

After O. K. retires, it becomes increasingly obvious to the family that something is wrong: Having finally escaped the frightening superior, it had been hoped that O. K. would have a load lifted off her heart. But at home she seems increasingly erratic, cooking, previously a matter of course, overwhelms her, she becomes, contrary to her calm, friendly character, more and more nervous, anxious, forgetful and above all aggressive. Her husband takes her to the family doctor, several times. There is nothing wrong, says the doctor.

But the abnormalities continue to increase, so at some point they go to a neurologist. In 2014, years after the onset of the abnormalities, the neurologist diagnosed “incipient dementia. Well, there’s not much you can do, says the neurologist, and prescribes medication. But these psychotropic drugs do not get O.K. at all, she suffers from strong side effects: She is tired and sleepy, hardly gets on her feet, she sweats, is nervous and aggressive all the time. Every few months she is presented to the neurologist, Alzheimer’s dementia it is now, the drugs are varied further. But the disease progresses.

It cannot go on like this: The family researches, there must be something!

When O. K. is already in an advanced middle stage of the disease, the family naturally asks whether O. K. will not eventually have to go into a nursing home? Husband J. K. has to take care of everything, he cannot leave his wife alone anymore.

Daughter-in-law A. starts researching and first comes across a tea: Greek mountain tea. This consists of plants of the genus Sideritis (in German: Gliederkraut) and is widely known in Greece and the surrounding countries, including Macedonia. It is said to protect against dementia and depression, among other things, and people who drink the tea regularly are said not to develop dementia. The family obtains the tea in capsule form, which are now also available. But sideritis doesn’t help O. K., probably because her dementia is already too far advanced.

A glimmer of hope: stem cells for dementia?

In 2019, Mrs. O. K. is getting worse, the family comes across reports of stem cell therapy during further research. They read that positive effects were observed after neural stem cells were transplanted into the brains of mice that had a disease similar to Alzheimer’s disease. Research is still in the early stages, these procedures are not yet approved, but the K. family is grasping at any straw: they want to try, they want their wife, mother and grandma back. The stem cell therapy is expensive and they have to travel to non-European countries for it. But they take the effort, but with a sad result: the stem cell therapy helps: nothing.

O. K. can no longer speak, she can no longer eat alone, her gaze goes into the void, she rarely recognizes her family, she is completely passive, the life has gone out of her. The family can no longer reach her, everyone is completely desperate. “No matter what, a nursing home is out of the question,” says the husband. “But soon it won’t be possible,” the children counter. After all, it’s already barely possible at home. They start researching again.

Transcranial Pulse Stimulation: a new, already approved form of therapy could help?

Daughter-in-law A. accidentally reads a report about Transcranial Pulse Stimulation – on Instagram! The report leads her to “Alzheimer Germany.” Is this another one of those miracle promises? A. K. researches carefully, she does not let the fact that the statutory health insurance companies do not yet cover the costs worry her: As a geriatric nurse, she knows how the system works and that many good therapies are not immediately included in the benefits catalog if they do not come from the pharmaceutical industry and are therefore not part of the basic contracts.

The family discusses the possibility and decides to try Transcranial Pulse Stimulation. After all, this therapy is clinically approved and has no side effects. They choose Prof. Musa Citak, MD, and his practice in Bochum, Germany, as their physician.

TPS-Therapy and a subsequent stay in Macedonia: The patient is radiant again!

In the spring of 2022, O. K. undergoes six sessions of Transcranial Pulse Stimulation therapy. Prof. Citak explains everything in detail to the family and is also enthusiastic about the travel plans to Macedonia. “Patients who go on vacation after the treatment, i.e. are in a different environment, usually experience an even greater effect of the therapy because the neurogenesis, i.e. the reorganization of the cells and synapses in the brain, is increased again by the many new impressions on a trip,” the professor explains.

And so it happens: After the therapy, the K. couple travels to Macedonia to their home country. After two months they return and the patient, she beams.

“My mother-in-law came back and we were very surprised: her eyes are shining again these days, she is much more active and back to herself. It’s as if her spirit has returned to her. She can eat by herself again, she laughs a lot, we have fun together, and above all, she talks again. In the evenings, my father-in-law says, when it’s just the two of them together, they talk to each other, just like before the illness. It’s so wonderful!” reports the daughter-in-law.

“What about the discussion about a place in a nursing home,” I ask conversationally. “That’s off the table for now, anyway. We are so happy about that. Of course, we don’t know what the future will bring, but we hope that thanks to TPS we won’t have to think about that for a long time,” A. K. concludes the conversation.