Isabelle Aubert, a world famous French neurosurgeon and pioneer of the science of brainstem stimulation has been chosen as the new “Founding Partner” of Wellcome Collection for a very prestigious Medical Research award. The reason being that the scientists, after thorough study has found that the height of individuals with Neurotrophic Factors (Ngf) is related to their level of intelligence, memory, creativity and emotional well-being. The study also suggests that the size of the blood-brain barrier in individuals with high levels of Ngf is related to the ability of the person to remember information and to process and utilize that information in his daily life. Since the blood-brain barrier plays a major role in our nervous system, this finding has immense impact on our health care system as it is crucial in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease and other brain related disorders.
As an associate professor at both the Harvard Medical School and the Paris Descartes University, Isabelle Aubert is considered to be one of the foremost researchers in this field. This remarkable woman has led many research efforts to promote regeneration of the lost neurons in humans and animals. The primary focus of Dr. Aubert has been the use of non invasive means to treat Alzheimer’s patients with age-related mental decline, using techniques such as optogenetics, transgenic regulation and non-cytogenetic approaches.
In her most recent work, her research was directed to the development of a method of treating mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease using optogenetics, which is the use of light waves and ultrasounds to stimulate the nervous system. While testing the effects of this technique on mice, she and her research team discovered that when mice were exposed to a visual challenge, they were able to perform better than those not exposed to the challenge. Another key finding from her research was that the treated animals showed improved spatial learning and memory, as well as an increase in the frequency of their nerve transmission. The results of this study are being published in a paper entitled “Focused Ultrasound-Based Animal Neurotherapy for Alzheimer’s Disease,” by Isabelle Aubert, J.M. Rana, Yulong Lu and Dongying Sun, all of the members of the Department of Neurology, University of Paris and the Institute of Molecular Biotechnology, France.