纳米金颗粒能够治疗早老性痴呆

 
 
研究人员发现使用金纳米颗粒能够消除beta淀粉纤维和斑块，据信可以缓解早老性痴呆患者的智力衰退。

研究人员把这种新技术叫做“分子手术”，这种治疗能够停止或者减缓疾病的发展，而不会损伤正常的脑细胞。这项研究结果发表在2006年1月11日的美国化学学会的《纳米通讯》。

使用实验室模型进行研究，研究人员将金纳米颗粒贴附在beta淀粉纤维上，孵育几天之后，然后暴露于微弱的微波下数小时。研究人员说，治疗区域的能量水平比传统手机要低7倍，不会损伤健康的细胞。纤维然后溶解并在随后至少1周内继续溶解，提示治疗不仅是成功的溶解了纤维，而且能够降低患者再次出现蛋白凝集的倾向。

Radiation, Nanoparticles May Slow Alzheimer’s
 
Researchers have discovered a new approach that uses gold nanoparticles to destroy beta-amyloid fibrils and plaque, believed to contribute to the mental deterioration of Alzheimer’s patients.

The researchers state that the new technique, which they call a type of “molecular surgery,” could stop or slow the disease’s progression without injuring healthy brain cells. The study was published in the January 11, 2006, issue of the American Chemical Society’s journal Nano Letters.

Utilizing laboratory model studies, the investigators attached gold nanoparticles to a group of beta amyloid fibrils, incubated the ensuing compound for several days, and then exposed it to weak microwave fields for several hours. The energy levels of the fields were six times smaller than those of traditional cell phones and not likely to harm healthy cells, according to the researchers. The fibrils then dissolved and remained dissolved for at least one week after being irradiated, indicating that the treatment was not only successful at breaking up the fibrils but also resulted in a lower propensity of the proteins to re-aggregate, according to the researchers.