Light and sound therapy of Alzheimer's disease
They will try to fight Alzheimer's disease with the help of light and sound
Clinical studies of a new method of combating Alzheimer's disease have begun in the United States. Ten patients included in the study will be given daily one-hour sessions of exposure to light and sound waves, which scientists hope will stimulate brain activity and its resistance to disease.
Experiments conducted earlier on mice have shown that exposure to light and sound waves at a frequency of 40 hertz amplifies the so-called gamma waves in the brain – vibrations in the range from 30 to 120-170 hertz on an electroencephalogram. Usually gamma waves are associated with the processes of maximum concentration of attention. When gamma waves were amplified under the influence of light and sound, the activity of immune cells increased in experimental mice, which allowed them to eliminate defective proteins that accumulate in the brain in Alzheimer's disease.
Neuroscientist Li-Huei Tsai from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who is leading the study, told a conference of the Society of Neuroscience in Chicago that the therapy improved the survival and health of neurons in mice, increased their connectivity and expanded blood vessels, which can benefit patients. "We would like to see if our approach will slow down Alzheimer's disease," says Tsai. "We hope that our results shown in mice will help people with Alzheimer's disease, although it's too early to say, and many things that helped mice did not help people."
The patients included in the study will have cognitive tests every three months to assess their brain function and regular CT scans to measure brain activity and connectivity of brain neurons. The second stage of the study is already planned, in which forty more patients will take part. The level of beta-amyloid and defective tau protein - two likely candidates for the role of the cause of Alzheimer's disease – will be measured in their brain and cerebrospinal fluid.
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