In a new study, researchers used MRI scans to show what happens when ultrasound waves target a specific area of Alzheimer’s patient’s brains.
They found that this treatment may induce an immunological healing response, a potential breakthrough for a disease that accounts for up to 80% of all dementia cases.
The research was conducted by West Virginia University scientists.
Focused ultrasound is an innovative technique and new way of approaching brain diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease.
In 2018, WVU launched a first-of-its-kind clinical trial to explore the use of focused ultrasound to open the blood-brain barrier in early-stage Alzheimer’s patients.
The ultrasound targeted the hippocampus in particular because it plays a large role in learning and memory.
In the study, the team used MRI with contrast-enhancement dye to observe the changes that took place in the brains of three early-stage Alzheimer’s patients—ages 61, 72, and 73—who underwent the ultrasound treatment.
They observed that the dye moved along the course of draining veins following the procedure.
The analysis of the MRI scans suggests that an immunological healing response may occur around the draining veins following the procedure.
This observation may be an important clue in understanding the physiological mechanism by which the focused ultrasound procedure modifies brain amyloid levels and might be used to treat patients with Alzheimer’s disease and other brain disorders.
Why are amyloid levels important? Unusually high amounts of this protein tend to clump together in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients, forming plaques between nerve cells and sabotaging their function.
The ongoing clinical trial aims to assess whether focused ultrasound can reduce amyloid plaques in patients with Alzheimer’s disease.
This project did not involve any medications. The ultrasound itself was enough to elicit a probable immunological response.
In the future, however, the treatment may make it easier to medicate the brain with more precision, even in people who don’t have Alzheimer’s disease.
As the team enrolls more participants, they plan to examine the treatment’s long-term effects. They want to know whether it is safe and effective for slowing—or even reversing—the progression of Alzheimer’s dementia.
One author of the study is Rashi Mehta.
The study is published in the journal Radiology.
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