Scientists Treat Alzheimer’s In Mice Using Light And Sound

Despite all our advances in the medical industry, there are still certain diseases and ailments that do not have a cure. Unfortunately, one of those diseases is Alzheimer’s, which at the moment there is still no cure for. However, thanks to research done by scientists at MIT, they could be onto something.

For those who are unfamiliar with how Alzheimer’s developers, it is basically where the communication amongst the brain’s neurons are disrupted, which in turn causes loss of function and cell death. This ultimately affects a person’s memory and behavior, which will also ultimately lead to death.

It has been discovered that within the brains of Alzheimer’s patients there is a buildup of plaque that collects between neurons which affects the way cells function, and so what researchers at MIT have done is that through the use of light and sound, they have managed to “clear” some of the plaque in the brains of mice.

This method is actually based off an earlier technique, but with some modifications made by adding sound. According to Li-Huei Tsai, one of the researchers from MIT’s Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, “When we combine visual and auditory stimulation for a week, we see the engagement of the prefrontal cortex and a very dramatic reduction of amyloid.”

That being said, we shouldn’t be too excited just yet as the test was only conducted on mice, so it is unclear if it could work on humans due to the frequency of our brain waves versus that of a mouse.

Tyler Lee
Categories: Medical
Tags: Health, Science