A light therapy for treating Alzheimer's disease

Xue Wang; Mengmeng Han; Qiyan Wang; Yuhui Zeng; Qingqiang Meng; Jun Zhang; Xunbin Wei

doi:10.1117/12.2253476

20 February 2017 A light therapy for treating Alzheimer's disease

Xue Wang, Mengmeng Han, Qiyan Wang, Yuhui Zeng, Qingqiang Meng, Jun Zhang, Xunbin Wei

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 10065, Biophotonics and Immune Responses XII; 1006510 (2017) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2253476
Event: SPIE BiOS, 2017, San Francisco, California, United States

Abstract

It is generally believed that there are some connections between Alzheimer’s disease and amyloid protein plaques in the brain. The typical symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease are memory loss, language disorders, mood swings, loss of motivation and behavioral issues. Currently, the main therapeutic method is pharmacotherapy, which may temporarily reduce symptoms, but has many side effects. Infrared light therapy has been studied in a range of single and multiple irradiation protocols in previous studies and was found beneficial for neuropathology. In our research we have studied the effect of infrared light on Alzheimer’s disease through transgenic mouse model. We designed an experimental apparatus for treating mice, which primarily included a therapeutic box and a LED array, which emitted infrared light. After the treatment, we assessed the effects of infrared light by performing two tests: cognitive performance of mice in Morris water maze, and plaque load by immunofluorescence analysis. Immunofluorescence analysis was based on measuring the quantity of plaques in mouse brain slices. Our results show that infrared therapy is able to improve cognitive performance in the mouse model. It might provide a novel and safe way to treat Alzheimer’s disease.

Citation Download Citation

Xue Wang, Mengmeng Han, Qiyan Wang, Yuhui Zeng, Qingqiang Meng, Jun Zhang, and Xunbin Wei "A light therapy for treating Alzheimer's disease", Proc. SPIE 10065, Biophotonics and Immune Responses XII, 1006510 (20 February 2017); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2253476

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