Seminar Title: Ultrasound Treatment of Neurodegenerative Diseases
Speaker: Pierre Mourad, PhD.
Professor of Engineering and Mathematics and of Neurological Surgery
University of Washington
Abstract: Alzheimer's Disease (AD) and other dementias represent a growing burden on individuals, their family, and society as a whole. A leading theory - but not the only one - points to the buildup of aberrant proteins within brain as a source of brain-tissue damage that correlates with the observed decline in brain function. Motivated by observations that light pulsed at 40 Hz can improve AD pathology, we demonstrated that ultrasound pulsed at 40 Hz can activate neurons and microglia with its focus, the latter leading to a nearly 50% reduction in amyloid beta burden after one week of hourly treatment. Others have replicated this finding. In this talk. I'll briefly review various means by which ultrasound may one day treat neurodegenerative disorders then discuss on-going work in my laboratory to improve behavior and underlying histopathology of AD after traumatic brain injury.
About the Speaker: Dr. Mourad received his undergraduate degree in mathematics from Rutgers University and a PhD in Applied Mathematics from the University of Washington. For some time now, he has held a Professorship at the University of Washington, affiliated with departments whose interests are defined by brain disorders (Neurosurgery [primary appointment]) or have an interest in developing medical technology (Engineering and Mathematics [primary appointment]; Bioengineering [adjunct appointment]; Applied Physics Laboratory [affiliate appointment]). From those positions Dr. Mourad has pursued highly collaborative translational science with a focus on ultrasound that can diagnose and/or treat diseases or disorders of the brain.