Nanoparticle radiation may slow disease.

• Position: Alzheimer's - Brief article

Chemists in Chile and Spain have identified a new approach for the possible treatment of Alzheimer's disease that they say has the potential to destroy beta-amyloid fibrils and plaque--hypothesized to contribute to mental decline. The researchers feel the technique, which they calla type of "molecular surgery," could halt or slow the disease's progress without harming healthy brain cells, reports the American Chemical Society, Washington, D.C.

Using test tube studies, the scientists attached gold nanoparticles to a group of beta-amyloid fibrils, incubated the resulting mixture for several days, then exposed it to weak microwave fields for several hours. The energy levels of the fields were six times smaller than that of conventional cell phones and unlikely to harm healthy cells, the researchers maintain. The fibrils subsequently dissolved and remained so for at least one week after being irradiated, indicating that the treatment not only was...