A bioengineered device that removes toxins from the human brain
What is it about?
A major route for brain toxins such as A-beta and tau to be drained/removed from the human brain is via flow through meningeal lymphatic vessels (mLVs). Increasing brain levels of the cytokine vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is the primary way to increase lymphatic flow through mLVs and to thus increase removal of toxins from the brain by this route. The present clinical study measured the brain toxins A-beta and tau in both brain and blood of Alzheimer’s subjects before and after 2-months of daily one-hour treatments with a new bioengineered technology – Transcranial Radiofrequency Wave Treatment (TRFT). In home TRFT was shown to non-invasively increase both plasma and brain levels of VEGF in AD subjects who had low/undetectable VEGF levels. The result was increased removal/clearance of the brain toxins A-beta and tau into blood, presumably by enhancing mLV lymphatic flow (containing toxins) out of the brain.
Why is it important?
Multiple diseases of aging (e.g., Alzheimer’s Disease, Parkinson’s disease, brain tumors) and aging itself are now known to involve impaired (decreased) mLV flow, which reduces removal of toxins such as A-beta and tau from the brain. The present study provides clinical evidence for TRFT as the first therapeutic intervention that can enhance removal of soluble toxins from the human brain – this, presumably through TRFT’s ability to increase VEGF levels, which then enhances flow of toxin-containing lymphatic fluid out of the brain. TRFT’s “brain cleaning” actions should be particularly beneficial to the majority of AD subjects, who typically have low or unmeasurable VEGF levels in plasma. In the present study, Alzheimer’s subjects who had low baseline levels of VEGF in their plasma also had low cognitive performance at baseline. Following TRFT, these same AD subjects experienced a dramatic increase in their blood/brain levels of VEGF and much improved clearance of the toxins A-beta and tau from their brains. The TRFT-induced higher VEGF levels and greater removal of toxins from their brains was associated with (and likely contributed to) the reversal of cognitive decline these AD subjects showed after TRFT.