Ultrasound could cure dementia without any side effects: Waves activate blood vessel and nerve cell growth in the brain, study finds
- Reduced blood flow prevents brain cells receiving oxygen and nutrients
- These are needed for people to think, learn and remember effectively
- Nerve cell death and damage is one of the main causes of dementia
- Treatment could benefit patients without the need for invasive therapy
- Dementia affects 850,000 people in the UK and more than five million in the US
Ultrasound waves could cure dementia without any side effects, new research suggests.
When given to mice with the condition, ultrasound activates genes linked to blood vessel formation and nerve cell growth, a study found.
Reduced blood flow is thought to trigger diseases like Alzheimer's due to brain cells not receiving the oxygen and nutrients they need for thinking, learning and memory.
Nerve cell death and damage is one of the main causes of dementia.
The researchers believe ultrasound treatment may also cure humans of dementia, which affects around 850,000 people in the UK and more than five million in the US.
Lead author Dr Hiroaki Shimokawa, from Tohoku University, Japan, said: 'The therapy is a non-invasive physiotherapy that could apply to high-risk elderly patients without the need for surgery or anaesthesia and could be used repeatedly.'
Ultrasound waves could cure dementia without any side effects, research suggests (stock)
How the research was carried out
The researchers limited the blood supply in the brains of mice to create conditions similar to dementia.
Low-intensity pulsed ultrasound waves were applied to the rodents' brains three times a day for 20 minutes each time.
Treatment was administered on the first, third and fifth days after the animals' blood supplies were restricted.
Mice with a condition similar to Alzheimer's received 11 treatments over three months.
Results suggest ultrasound waves activate genes linked to blood vessel formation and nerve cell growth in mice with conditions similar to dementia.
The findings were published in the journal Brain Stimulation.
Poor people are 50% more likely to develop dementia
This comes after research released last March suggested poor people are more likely to develop dementia.
The 20 per cent most deprived adults in England are 50 per cent more likely to suffer from severe memory loss than the wealthiest 20 per cent, a study found.
Study author Professor Andrew Steptoe, from University College London, said: 'Our study confirms that the risk of dementia is reduced among well-off older people compared with those who have fewer economic resources.
'Many factors could be involved. Differences in healthy lifestyle and medical risk factors are relevant.
'It may also be that better off people have greater social and cultural opportunities that allow them to remain actively engaged with the world.'
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