Ultrasound Memory Mice Alzheimer's Mice

Australian researchers managed to recapture the memory of mice whose brains were affected by Alzheimer's disease . After exposure to ultrasound, the mice showed much better results in tests for memory and orientation in space.

Although now the causes of the disease are not exactly known, one of the hypotheses states that the disease is caused by the appearance in the brain of an excess amount of beta-amyloid bodies. These protein aggregates are normally broken down in the brain, but in people exposed to the disease, the brain does not cope with splitting.

Finding a cure for the disease is hampered by the fact that the brain is separated from the bloodstream by the hemato-encephalic barrier — a filter that protects the brain from microorganisms and toxins that can enter the blood. The same filter successfully prevents most drugs from entering the brain.

Scientists decided to try to have a non-invasive effect on the brain through ultrasonic waves. It turned out that such a procedure stimulates microglia - special nerve cells of the brain that destroy various infections that have entered the brain. In mice whose brains were sonicated, the number of beta-amyloid bodies decreased by 75%. After that, the mice showed a significant improvement in the results of various tests.
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Researchers are cautiously optimistic and soon plan to try a new method of dealing with a terrible disease in sheep, before turning to human testing.