A team of researchers in Australia have developed a treatment that can restore memory in patients who have Alzheimer’s disease. The treatment is non-invasive and involves using ultrasound technology in order to remove amyloid plaques from the brain. Amyloid plaques are the structures that cause cognitive function decline and memory loss.
If a person has Alzheimer’s disease, then he or she has neurofibrillary tangles and amyloid plaques. Amyloid plaques are found between the neurons. They eventually form beta-amyloid molecules, which are stick proteins that form plaque. Neurofibrillary tangles are located inside of the neurons.
Treating Alzheimer’s Disease
Neurofibrillary tangles will clump together and form a thick mass. This prevents essential nutrients from getting transported to the brain. It is a lot like twisting a vacuum cleaner tube. There is no vaccine available to prevent Alzheimer’s disease. It is estimated that 343,000 people in Australia have this condition. Approximately 5.4 million people in America have Alzheimer’s disease. This condition affects 50 million people in the world.
Researchers believe that the number of people living with Alzheimer’s disease will continue to grow. It is estimated that 135 million people will have Alzheimer’s disease by 2050. The cost of treating Alzheimer’s disease is astronomical. In fact, the United States spends $236 billion per year on treating Alzheimer’s disease.
Scientists have been studying how to treat Alzheimer’s disease and prevent it from progressing for many years. They have been trying to find ways to clear the tau proteins and beta-amyloid proteins from the patient’s brain. A team at the University of Queensland and Queensland Brain Institute have developed a solution that seems pretty promising.
The results of the study were published in the “Science Translation Medicine.” The research teamed used ultrasound to stimulate the brain tissue. The treatment delivered non-invasive sound waves to the brain tissue. The sound waves are able to open up the blood-brain barrier. This is a layer of tissue that protects the brain from bacteria.
The ultrasound also stimulates the microglial cells, which are cells that remove waste from the brain. They are able to remove beta-amyloid clumps from the brain. The beta-amyloid clumps cause Alzheimer’s disease symptoms.
The treatment has not yet been tested on humans. However, it has been tested on mice. The results of the study showed that 75 percent of the mice were able to get their full memory back. The treatment did not damage their surrounding brain tissue. The mice performed memory tasks before and after receiving the treatment. All of the mice performed better on the tests after getting their treatment.
Jurgen Gotz is one of the people who was involved in the study. He stated that his team is excited about the results of the study. He stated that he does not like the term “breakthrough”. However, he stated that the term would be appropriate in this case. The results of the study can change the way that Alzheimer’s disease is treated in the future.
The team plans on conducting more studies in order to test the effectiveness of this treatment. They plan on testing the treatment on sheep. After they have tested the treatment on a few more animals, they will start testing on humans.
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