"enhanced cognitive performance" in seven Alzheimers patients

David Nield reports in Science alert,

In the ongoing efforts to control and treat Alzheimer’s, one of the more promising avenues of research is using electromagnetic waves to reverse memory loss – and a small study using this approach has reported some encouraging results.

The study only involved eight patients over a period of two months, so we can’t get too excited just yet, but the researchers did see “enhanced cognitive performance” in seven of the participants.

In this case, the volunteers – who all have mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease (AD) – were fitted with what’s called a MemorEM head cap, which uses specially developed emitters to create a custom flow of electromagnetic waves through the skull. Treatments are applied twice daily, for an hour, and they can be easily administered at home.

The study builds on previous research from the same team that concentrated on mice, which showed that this transcranial electromagnetic treatment (TEMT) was capable of protecting against memory loss, and even reversing it in older rodents.

Based on the evidence so far, TEMT looks like it can break up the toxic amyloid-beta and tau proteins that have been extensively linked with Alzheimer’s – the waves are apparently able to destabilize the weak hydrogen bonds that hold them together.

These proteins essentially clog up the brain, scientists think, suffocating and destroying neurons we rely on to hold on to memories, turn thoughts into speech, and work out where we are in the world.

Read more here.

hat-tip Instapundit