NEW HOPE FOR ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE: ULTRASOUND STIMULATION
If you’ve followed my posts, you know I try to share the latest news on Alzheimer’s disease. To me—and many others—it’s the most threatening thing about aging; at least one third of us will develop it by age 85.
This week I read of a recent study where mice exposed to ultrasound stimulation over a period of time had not only reduced amyloid plaque and tau protein levels in their brain but also increased function. This is terrific news! If this is found to be an applicable approach for humans, it could significantly improve the quality of life of patients by slowing the progression of Alzheimer’s.
The Study
Results of this study were published in DailyGuardian.com on January 27, 2022 in the article Ultrasound Stimulation is Effective Therapy for Alzheimer’s Disease: Study. Here are excerpts:
Alzheimer’s disease (AD), is extremely prevalent within ageing societies in Japan, Korea, and various European countries [and America]. Currently, there is no cure or an effective strategy to slow down the progression of AD.
Fortunately, a recent study, published in ‘Translational Neurodegeneration’ by a team of scientists has shown a ray of hope.
The scientists at the Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST) in Korea demonstrated that there might be a way to combat AD by using “ultrasound-based gamma entrainment,” a technique that involved syncing up a person’s (or an animal’s) brain waves above 30 Hz (called “gamma waves”) with an external oscillation of a given frequency. The process happens naturally by exposing a subject to a repetitive stimulus, such as sound, light, or mechanical vibrations.
Previous studies on mice showed that gamma entrainment could fight off the formation of b-amyloid plaques and tau protein accumulations — a standard hallmark of the onset of AD. In this recent paper, the GIST team demonstrated that it is possible to realize gamma entrainment by applying ultrasound pulses at 40 Hz, i.e., in the gamma frequency band, into the brain of an AD-model mice.
One of the main benefits of this approach was in the way it was administered. Associate Professor Jae Gwan Kim, who led the study alongside Assistant Professor Tae Kim, explained: “Compared with other gamma entrainment methods that rely on sounds or flickering lights, ultrasound can reach the brain non-invasively without disturbing our sensory system. This makes ultrasound-based approaches more comfortable for the patients.”
Experiment Results
As their experiments showed, mice exposed to ultrasound pulses for two hours daily for two weeks had reduced b-amyloid plaque concentration and tau protein levels in their brain. Furthermore, electroencephalographic analyses of these mice also revealed functional improvements, suggesting that brain connectivity also benefited from this treatment. Moreover, the procedure did not cause any type of microbleeding (brain hemorrhages), indicating that it was not mechanically harmful to brain tissue. [Underlining mine]
Overall, the promising results of this study could pave the way to innovative, non-invasive therapeutic strategies for AD without side effects, as well as help treat other conditions besides AD. Dr. Tae Kim remarked: “While our approach can significantly improve the quality of life of patients by slowing the progression of AD, it could also offer a new solution to other neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson’s disease.”