"...These studies clearly reveal clinical and imaging improvements in Alzheimer’s disease after surgery,” Dr. Shankle said.

However, Dr. Shankle thought the omentum’s therapeutic value lay not in its ability to increase cerebral blood flow, but in its capacity to deliver several stem cells and growth factors that promote neurogenesis and neuron survival (J Surg Res 1997;67:147-154; Neurol Res 2005;27: 807-811).

“What may be happening is the omentum acts as a delivery system for these stem cells and growth factors,” Dr. Shankle said. Regardless of the mechanism, he believed “there’s enough data to show the omentum has tremendous regenerative potential and should be rigorously looked at for treating Alzheimer’s disease.”

Considering the riskiness of OT, Dr. Shankle thought treatment should focus on using less invasive methods—including intranasal, intravenous, subcutaneous and intrathecal infusion pump—to deliver the omentum’s therapeutic stem cells and growth factors.

Although Dr. Goldsmith does not see surgery as a long-term answer, he believes OT can offer patients with AD a strong possibility of improvement, and this warrants scrutiny in a well-controlled study.

Sunil J. Patel, MD, chief in the Division of Neurosurgery at the Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, also thought the omentum has therapeutic value and the surgery deserved further study...

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