From: hound23x@gmail.com   
      
   Magnetic resonance (MR) imaging-guided ultrasound has been shown to reverse   
   the symptoms of Alzheimer's in mice   
      
       
   Magnetic resonance (MR) imaging-guided ultrasound, a technology that involves   
   highly-targeted ultrasound beams and monitoring their effects through imaging,   
   has shown to help treat symptoms of Alzheimer's disease in mice. The treatment   
   was found to    
   improve brain performance in the animals and has the researchers hopeful that   
   the technique may prove effective in improving cognitive behavior in humans.   
      
   Scientists at Toronto's Sunnybrook Research Institute were exploring the   
   effects of the therapy on transgenic mice, a variant of mice that have   
   increased plaque on the hippocampus (a part of the brain responsible for   
   memory). These mice show symptoms    
   typical of Alzheimer's in humans, such as memory loss and learning   
   difficulties, and are therefore used in research relating to the disease.   
      
   Using a microbubble contrast agent, the researchers found that they were able   
   to temporarily open up the blood-brain barrier, a passageway to the brain. But   
   only when the microbubbles travel through the high-intensity ultrasound beam   
   do they have this    
   effect, clearing the way for a more effective delivery of drugs.   
      
   The plaque abnormalities on untreated transgenic mice (left) and the brain of   
   a transgenic...   
   The plaque abnormalities on untreated transgenic mice (left) and the brain of   
   a transgenic mouse that has been treated with MR imaging-guided focused   
   ultrasound (right)(Image: Kullervo Hynynen, Sunnybrook Research Institute)   
      
   Using this technique to treat the transgenic mice, they observed improvements   
   in cognition and spatial learning. They say a possible reason for this is a   
   boost in neuronal plasticity resulting from the ultrasound beam, combined with   
   a reduction of brain    
   plaque, the presence of which in humans correlates with symptoms of   
   Alzheimer's. The team also reported an increase in the number of neurons and   
   dendrite length, the tree-like extensions of neurons that help them   
   communicate with other neurons.   
      
   "The results are an exciting step in the search for Alzheimer's treatments,"   
   says Steven Krosnick, Program Director for Image-Guided Interventions at the   
   National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering at Nation   
   Institutes of Health. "But    
   there is more to be done. There are limitations on the memory tests that can   
   be done on mice, and human cognition is significantly more complex. Hopefully   
   these results will open doors to more research on how MR imaging-guided   
   focused ultrasound could    
   benefit cognition and perhaps be magnified by using other therapeutics in   
   conjunction with this method."   
      
   Source: National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering   
      
      
      
      
   http://www.gizmag.com/ultrasound-alzheimers-mice/36071/   
      
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