- The new treatment developed by QBI is able to temporarily open the blood-brain barrier – a layer that normally protects our brains from bacteria and other potential threats, but also blocks drugs from entering and therefore prohibits traditional medicine.
- By using ultrasound, microglial cells (which are basically a type of support cell for removing waste) were stimulated to engulf and clear toxic protein clumps, fully restoring memory functions in 75% of the mice. This was achieved without damaging brain tissue.
- The next step will be to scale the treatment to higher animal models (sheep), followed by human clinical trials beginning in 2017.
Alzheimer's Breakthrough Using Ultrasound
3. 18. 15 by Radu Serban