Alzheimer and BBB

Dr. Weeks Comment: The brain has always been hard to medicate because it is protected by the blood brain barrier (BBB) – a guardian as diligent perhaps or more so than St. Peter himself at the Pearly Gates. Brain infections can become lethal quickly because IV antibiotics, for example, are not allowed to pass from the blood across the BBB into the brain tissue to do their work. These doctors referenced below are using innovative targeted ultrasound waves to “shake things up” (take down the BBB temporarily) which supposedly allows toxic debris (beta amyloid plaques) which interferes with cognition and memory to exit the brain when the BBB is open. That is the theory. While this treatments slowly gains acceptance, know that there is a safe and effective “back door” into the brain whereby you can deliver powerful, anti-inflammatory, organic and non-GMO omega 6 seed oils past the BBB and into the brain where they optimize attention, concentration, cognition and memory. Remember: Alzheimers is. at its essence, an inflammatory disease. So safe and effective anti-inflammatory agents are essential for optimizing cognitive function. Now here is the secret: there is a cluster of blood vessels in the neck where the blood vessels from the periphery mingle with blood vessels going to the brain and injecting anti-inflammatory agents there or rubbing anti-inflammatory seeds oils (omega 6 seed oils go easily through the skin) at that spot and then having the Alzheimer’s patient recline (to allow back wash into the brain) accomplishes great improvements. Here is the new exciting research which will ENHANCE the rubbing therapy just described – but you are advised to start rubbing until this ultrasound treatment is made available in hopefully the not too distant future.

Scanning ultrasound removes amyloid-β and restores memory in an Alzheimer’s disease mouse model.

Leinenga G1Götz J2.

Sci Transl Med. 2015 Mar 11;7(278):278ra33. doi: 10.1126/scitranslmed.aaa2512.

Abstract

Amyloid-β (Aβ) peptide has been implicated in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). We present a nonpharmacological approach for removing Aβ and restoring memory function in a mouse model of AD in which Aβ is deposited in the brain. We used repeated scanning ultrasound (SUS) treatments of the mouse brain to remove Aβ, without the need for any additional therapeutic agent such as anti-Aβ antibody. Spinning disk confocal microscopy and high-resolution three-dimensional reconstruction revealed extensive internalization of Aβ into the lysosomes of activated microglia in mouse brains subjected to SUS, with no concomitant increase observed in the number of microglia.

Plaque burden was reduced in SUS-treated AD mice compared to sham-treated animals, and cleared plaques were observed in 75% of SUS-treated mice. 

Treated AD mice also displayed improved performance on three memory tasks: the Y-maze, the novel object recognition test, and the active place avoidance task. Our findings suggest that repeated SUS is useful for removing Aβ in the mouse brain without causing overt damage, and should be explored further as a noninvasive method with therapeutic potential in AD.

AND

Blood-brain barrier opening in Alzheimer’s disease using MR-guided focused ultrasound.

Lipsman N1,2,3, et al 


Nat Commun.
 2018 Jul 25;9(1):2336. doi: 10.1038/s41467-018-04529-6.

FULL Article HERE

Abstract

Magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound in combination with intravenously injected microbubbles has been shown to transiently open the blood-brain barrier, and reduce beta-amyloid and tau pathology in animal models of Alzheimer’s disease. Here, we used focused ultrasound to open the blood-brain barrier in five patients with early to moderate Alzheimer’s disease in a phase I safety trial. In all patients, the blood-brain barrier within the target volume was safely, reversibly, and repeatedly opened. Opening the blood-brain barrier did not result in serious clinical or radiographic adverse events, as well as no clinically significant worsening on cognitive scores at three months compared to baseline. Beta-amyloid levels were measured before treatment using [18F]-florbetaben PET to confirm amyloid deposition at the target site. Exploratory analysis suggested no group-wise changes in amyloid post-sonication. The results of this safety and feasibility study support the continued investigation of focused ultrasound as a potential novel treatment and delivery strategy for patients with Alzheimer’s disease.

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