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Researchers have found that sound stimulation of the brain at a specific frequency may be able to flush out proteins that are linked to Alzheimer’s disease
Over 7 million people in the U.S. suffer from Alzheimer’s, but a new groundbreaking study has found a unique way to combat the disease.
Researchers have found that sound stimulation of the brain at a specific frequency may be able to flush out proteins that are linked to Alzheimer’s disease. The condition is known to develop in people who have an abundance of toxic proteins called amyloids in the brain, which form harmful plaques on a person’s cells.
The study was conducted by scientists with the Chinese Academy of Sciences using aged rhesus monkeys as test subjects. The results could lead to low-cost preventative measures for people at risk of Alzheimer’s disease.
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What is the Alzheimer’s sound study?
Researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences found that auditory stimulation at 40Hz can change the amount of amyloid protein in the brain of older rhesus monkeys.
The monkeys had widespread spontaneous amyloid-β (Aβ) protein clusters in their brain, which are similar to Alzheimer’s in humans. They were made to listen to the 40Hz sound for one hour a day, seven days in a row.
Doing so showed levels of β-amyloid in the spinal fluid were 200% higher than before, which suggests the plaque around cells had been cleared, Science Focus reported.
The results stayed the same for five weeks, showing the treatment will last.
Will the Alzheimer’s sound findings work in humans?
More research needs to be done, and Professor Giuseppe Battaglia of the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia told Science Focus not to bet entirely on the study just yet.
“It is best seen as a strong clue, not a breakthrough treatment,” he said. He added that the results are “encouraging” but must be carefully conducted in human trials. That’s when scientists will find out if this treatment could “translate into lasting protection of memory.”
Alzheimer’s patients are currently given antibody treatments that can only slow early Alzheimer’s progression. If the new sound stimulation treatment works in humans, it could be a non-invasive and low-cost solution to the debilitating disease.
“This study provides the first primate evidence that 40Hz auditory stimulation can sustainably modulate the Aβ metabolism in the brain, supporting its potential as a noninvasive AD treatment method,” researchers wrote.
