Using ultrasound and bubbles to fight Alzheimer’s disease
Dr. Kullervo Hynynen, director of the Physical Sciences platform at Sunnybrook Research Institute, and Dr. Isabelle Aubert, a senior scientist in the Hurvitz Brain Sciences Research Program, comment on a new study that shows the efficacy of using ultrasound to remove amyloids from the brains of mice with Alzheimer’s disease. Hynynen pioneered the technique that combines microbubbles and ultrasound to create temporary openings in the blood-brain barrier, which allows therapeutic agents to be delivered into the brain.
Researchers in Australia have built on the techniques developed by Hynynen and Aubert to show that in a mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease, injections of microbubbles followed by six to eight weeks of ultrasound treatment led to improved performance in memory tasks. Hynynen and Aubert continue to investigate how the technique improves brain function and whether it can be applied to other brain disorders.
