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Researchers at Sunnybrook Research Institute and the University of Toronto, led by Isabelle Aubert, Ph.D., have published results of a preclinical study examining focused ultrasound's potential to stimulate the production of oligodendrocytes, the cells responsible for making myelin, which plays an important role in neuronal function.
The study, "The modulation of the blood-brain barrier by focused ultrasound stimulates oligodendrogenesis," examined a potential regenerative effect of focused ultrasound–mediated blood-brain barrier (BBB) modulation. The researchers found that the treatment increased the production of new oligodendrocytes in two regions of the mouse brain.
Myelin is an insulating layer that surrounds many nerve fibers. It helps electrical signals travel efficiently through the brain. Bundles of nerve fibers, many of which are covered in myelin, make up much of the brain's white matter, which forms communication pathways that connect different brain regions. In the brain, oligodendrocytes are the cells responsible for producing myelin.
Changes in myelin, the white matter of the brain, and oligodendrocytes are increasingly being recognized as part of Alzheimer's disease biology because of their impact on the cell-to-cell communication involved in learning and memory.
These findings, which appear in Acta Neuropathologica Communications, have prompted researchers to investigate whether promoting myelin maintenance and repair could serve as a complementary therapeutic approach alongside treatments targeting amyloid, tau and other neuronal disease processes.
The researchers used magnetic resonance imaging–guided focused ultrasound plus intravenous microbubbles to temporarily alter the BBB on one side of the brain, targeting the hippocampus or striatum in healthy mice.
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