Scientific Breakthrough: Alzheimer’s Ultrasound Therapy Fully Restores Memory Function in Mice

13 February 2017

 - Scientists in Brisbane, Australia, have discovered a non-invasive ultrasound technology that fully restores memory function in 75 percent of Alzheimer’s test animals.

Affecting close to 50 million people worldwide, dementia — of which Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form — is expected to impact 135 million people by 2050. In the United States, Alzheimer’s strikes one in eight elderly Americans and is the sixth-leading cause of death. Over 15 million Americans provide unpaid care for a person with Alzheimer’s and other dementias [source] and, in 2016 alone, an estimated $236 billion was spent in supporting Alzheimer’s patients, making it the most expensive disease in America. [source]

Alzheimer’s is a progressive brain disease in which abnormal protein deposits (otherwise known as amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles) accumulate in the brain and cause cells to die. It is a devastating experience for both the patient and family members — so it goes without saying, any method that can slow or reverse the progression of this disease is desperately needed. For years, however, effective pharmaceuticals and other treatment options have been limited — until now.