Researchers have used blue LED lights to prevent the build-up of a protein known to cause Alzheimer’s disease, an advance that may pave the way for light-induced treatments for neurodegenerative diseases. Scientists from Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) and Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology conducted a study to suppress abnormal assembly of beta-amyloids, a protein commonly found in the brain, by using photo-excited porphyrins.
Beta-amyloid plaques Beta-amyloid plaques are known to cause Alzheimer’s disease. The finding suggests new ways to treat neurodegenerative illnesses including Alzheimer’s disease. Light-induced treatments using organic photosensitisers have advantages to managing the treatment in time and area.
Therapies used In the case of cancer treatments, doctors use photodynamic therapies where a patient is injected with an organic photosensitiser, and a light is shed on the patient’s lesion.
The research team effectively prevented the build-up of beta-amyloids by using blue LED lights and a porphyrin inducer, which is a biocompatible organic compound.
“This work has significance as it was the first case to use light and photosensitisers to stop deposits of beta-amyloids,” said Chan Beum Park of the Materials Science and Engineering Department at KAIST.
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.