Alzheimer's disease patient Isidora Tomaz, 82, sits in her armchair with two chairs placed in front of her by her husband Amilcar Dos Santos (unseen) to prevent her from falling to the ground in their house in Lisbon
Alzheimer's disease patient Isidora Tomaz, 82, sits in her armchair with two chairs placed in front of her by her husband Amilcar Dos Santos (unseen) to prevent her from falling to the ground in their house in Lisbon September 15, 2009. Several low income Portuguese families with Alzheimer's patients under their care are supported by Portugal's Alzheimer Association, a charity. Alzheimer Europe estimates the number of Alzheimer's patients in the European Union alone to surpass 7.0 million. Reuters

A Queensland University study has found a non-invasive way to remove neurotoxic myloid plaques from the brain of Alzheimer’s patients. The method, tested on mice by a team from the university’s Queensland Brain Institute, offers hope to restore the memory function.

The plaques are responsible for memory loss and decline in cognitive function of patients suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. A person suffers from the ailment if he or she has build-up of amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles lesions, explains Science Alert.

The team used focused therapeutic ultrasound, non-invasive beam of sound waves that reach the brain tissues. The method oscillates super-fast sound waves to gently open the barrier to the blood-brain – a layer that protects the brain against bacteria and stimulates its microglial cells to activate.

These cells remove waste cells. The ultrasound clear out the toxic beta-amyloid clumps that cause the worst symptoms of Alzheimer’s. When the researchers tried the technique on lab mice, it restored the memory function by 75 percent and had zero damage to tissues surrounding the rodents’ brains.

To test the effectiveness of the treatment, the team had the mice performs three memory tasks by having it go through a maze, recognize of new objects and remember places to avoid. The mice showed improved performance in all three memory tasks. The team plans to use the method on other higher animals such as sheep and on humans by 2017.

Jurgen Gotz, one of the team members, said the treatment does not use drug therapy. He said the method changes the way researchers understand how to treat Alzheimer’s. The study was published in the Science Transitional Medicine journal.

Alzheimer's affects about 36 million people globally. In the US, it is the sixth leading cause of death. The rate of diagnosis is one in nine American over 65 are suffering from the ailment, which does up to one in three by 85. Two-thirds of Alzheimer’s patients are women, although it has a higher rate among blacks and Hispanics.

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