Light And Sound Treatment May Help Combat Alzheimer's, Study Finds

Outside of some medication for mild to moderate Alzheimer’s, there’s no treatment for the degenerative disease. And ultimately, medications can only make the disease manageable instead of actively fighting the symptoms. But a new medical study conducted at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology may change that.

According to a report from the Daily Mail, MIT is preparing human trials in a new treatment aimed at actively combating Alzheimer’s and its symptoms. The treatment, in question, uses a combination of light and sound therapy to treat the disease in a non-invasive manner.

The treatment focuses on destroying proteins, known as beta amyloid, that gather into plaques that devour brain neurons. This is what leads to the confusion associated with dementia and Alzheimer’s. The study first tested this on mice and found the treatment boosted the memory in the brains of mice who received the treatment.

The study group is now preparing to open clinical trials for those suffering from early-stage Alzheimer’s to test the treatment to see its effectiveness. Dr. Li-Huei Tsai, a senior author at MIT for the study that was published in science journal Cell, said: “When we combine visual and auditory stimulation for a week, we see the engagement of the prefrontal cortex and a very dramatic reduction of amyloid.”

She does point out that the treatment must be ongoing in order to see continued benefits.

All in all, this could be a big step in treating degenerative neurological diseases and bring hope to those from Alzheimer’s.