Focused ultrasound to help brain immune cells clear Alzheimer plaques
Official title: Alzheimer's Disease Therapy via the MR Image-Guided Deletion of Microglial SHIP-1 with Focused Ultrasound
Funded at University of Virginia · NIH-11330649 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project uses MRI-guided focused ultrasound to deliver a therapy that changes microglia in people with Alzheimer's so they can clear amyloid plaques and protect neurons.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Virginia NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Charlottesville, United States) |
| Project start | May 15, 2025 |
| Project end | February 28, 2030 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $760,384 |
| NIH project number | 5R01AG086344-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11330649 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates would be people with early-stage Alzheimer's disease or mild cognitive impairment due to Alzheimer's who can undergo MRI and focused ultrasound procedures.
✕Less likely to help
People without amyloid pathology, with very advanced Alzheimer's, or who cannot safely undergo MRI or have bleeding or clotting risks may not benefit from this approach.
What this research studies
Researchers will use MRI-guided focused ultrasound together with tiny microbubbles to open the blood-brain barrier briefly and get therapies into the brain. The team plans to deliver treatments that remove or neutralize SHIP-1, a protein in microglia that may limit their ability to clear amyloid. They will develop and optimize a non-invasive gene delivery approach that targets microglia and then test whether this improves amyloid removal and neuron health in models relevant to Alzheimer's. Safety and the precision of targeting will be closely monitored during the work.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this approach could help people with Alzheimer's by improving microglial clearance of amyloid plaques and potentially slowing cognitive decline.
How similar studies have gone: MRI-guided focused ultrasound has been used safely in small human Alzheimer's studies to open the blood-brain barrier, but delivering SHIP-1-targeting gene therapies to microglia is a novel and unproven approach in people.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Virginia
Charlottesville, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Price, Richard J. — University of Virginia
- Study coordinator: Price, Richard J.
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
-
Low-intensity ultrasound to boost brain waste clearance in Alzheimer’s
A study tests a gentle ultrasound approach to help the brain clear amyloid waste in people with Alzheimer’s disease.
-
Targeting microglial cells to improve Alzheimer's disease treatment
This study is exploring a new way to help people with Alzheimer's by using focused ultrasound to deliver treatments that help brain cells clear harmful plaques, with the hope of improving memory and thinking skills without causing extra inflammation.
-
Using ultrasound to help deliver drugs for Alzheimer's disease treatment
This study is looking at a new way to help treat Alzheimer's disease by using sound waves to temporarily open the barrier that protects the brain, making it easier for medicine to reach the areas affected by the disease.
-
Understanding how brain activity changes may drive Alzheimer’s disease progression in a mouse model
Researchers are testing how changes in brain signals and protein cleanup processes affect the development of Alzheimer’s disease in mice.
-
Thiamine-boosting therapy for Alzheimer’s: understanding how benfotiamine may reduce harmful AGE in DP patients
A medication-based approach using high-dose vitamin B1 (benfotiamine) is studied to help people with Alzheimer's by reducing harmful sugar-related molecules.
-
Non-invasive tears biomarker for early Alzheimer's in LMICs
A low-cost, tear-based biomarker approach aims to detect early Alzheimer’s disease in older adults in Peru and similar settings.
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.