Whole-Brain LIPUS Therapy Improves Cognitive Dysfunction in Mice Simulating Dementia, Alzheimer's

A study from Tohoku University published in Brain Stimulation applied low-intensity pulsed ultrasound (LIPUS) to the whole brain of mice with conditions simulating vascular dementia and Alzheimer's disease, improving their cognitive dysfunction, reports News-Medical . The researchers applied LIPUS to the mice three times daily for 20 minutes each time. Mice with vascular dementia received LIPUS on the first, third, and fifth days following surgery that limited the brain's blood supply, while those with simulated Alzheimer's received 11 treatments over three months. Genes related to the cells lining blood vessels were activated at the molecular level, and there was higher expression of an enzyme involved in blood vessel formation and a protein that plays a role in nerve cell survival and growth. "The LIPUS therapy is a non-invasive physiotherapy that could apply to high-risk seniors without the need for surgery or anesthesia, and could be used repeatedly," remarks Tohoku's Hiroaki Shimokawa.