Study: Noninvasive Alzheimer’s Treatment Restores Memory
Non-invasive ultrasound technology could be used for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) treatment and to restore memory, according to a recent study.
The new method uses inexpensive, noninvasive ultrasound and microbubble technology to break apart neurotoxic amyloid plaques in the brain that result in memory loss in Alzheimer’s disease. 1
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“The ultrasound waves oscillate tremendously quickly, activating microglial cells that digest and remove the amyloid plaques that destroy brain synapses,” said Jurgen Gotz, PhD, an author of the study, and director of the Clem Jones Centre for Ageing Dementia Research. 1
“The word ‘breakthrough’ is often mis-used, but in this case I think this really does fundamentally change our understanding of how to treat this disease, and I foresee a great future for this approach,” he said. 1
The investigators have already begun gathering data on the efficacy of the technique by monitoring mice with an Alzheimer’s model, and noted that human clinical trials are at least 2 years away.1,2
They noted that they are also examining whether their method could be effective at removing toxic protein aggregates in neurodegenerative diseases aside from AD. 1
The complete study is published in the February issue of Science Translational Medicine.
-Michelle Canales Butcher
References:
1. The University of Queensland. Alzheimer’s breakthrough uses ultrasound technology. March 12, 2015. http://qbi.uq.edu.au/content/alzheimer’s-breakthrough-uses-ultrasound-technology. Accessed March 13, 2015.
2. Leinenga G, Gotz J. Scanning ultrasound removes amyloid-β and restores memory in an Alzheimer’s disease mouse model. Sci Transl Med. 2015 March [epub ahead of print] doi: 0.1126/scitranslmed.aaa2512.