Thursday, 28 March 2024


Trial of ultrasound treatment for Alzheimer’s underway in Australia

13 December 2022 | News

Alzheimer’s disease is the most prevalent form of dementia and the second leading cause of death in Australia

image credit- UQ

image credit- UQ

A pioneering treatment for Alzheimer’s disease, developed at The University of Queensland (UQ) in Australia, is being tested in a small safety trial underway in Brisbane. 

The safety trial - with a limit of 12 participants - is the culmination of a decade of ongoing research led by Professor Jürgen Götz at UQ’s Queensland Brain Institute (QBI). 

“There is currently no effective treatment for Alzheimer’s, so it is hugely rewarding that we could in the future potentially treat the disease with ultrasound,” Professor Götz said.

The 12-month trial is being conducted at Mater Hospital Brisbane and UQ and is being overseen by researcher and neurologist, Professor Peter Nestor. 

“We’re treating an area at the back of the brain that is affected early in the course of Alzheimer’s disease,” Professor Nestor said. 

Innovation Minister Stirling Hinchliffe said the Queensland Government was a foundation supporter of QBI and its research. 

“Through our Advance Queensland initiative, we’ve invested $5 million in QBI to develop and trial a prototype ultrasound device for treating dementia. 

The small safety trial starting now brings QBI one step closer to a potential world dementia treatment breakthrough, made and developed in Queensland", Hinchliffe said. 

 

Sign up for the editor pick and get articles like this delivered right to your inbox.

Editors Pick
+Country Code-Phone Number(xxx-xxxxxxx)


Comments

× Your session has been expired. Please click here to Sign-in or Sign-up
   New User? Create Account