Chemotherapy, or chemo, remains an important treatment option for cancer, but it has many unwanted side effects, including hair loss and cognitive impairment.
A combination of light and sound therapy, however, may be able to counteract the latter problems in the brain, new research shows.
Approximately 1 in 10 nursing home residents either are living with cancer or will receive a cancer diagnosis at some point, studies show.
Of those individuals, 25% are treated with some form of chemotherapy, according to mesothelioma.com; although many people receiving chemotherapy end up dying, it is difficult to identify how much the treatment contributed to that versus the cancer itself.
Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology found that exposure to both light and sound waves at 40 hertz made a difference in counteracting the brain inflammation that occurs from chemo. It also showed positive effects on memory and overall cognitive function.
The same research team had previously studied light and sound therapy’s ability to treat Alzheimer’s disease and had hypothesized that the treatment could work in a similar manner to abet the cognitive issues caused by chemotherapy.
The study contained one major caveat, the study authors cautioned: The treatment appeared to work much better if used concurrently with the onset of chemotherapy, as opposed to months after the chemo regimen has begun.
At least one other study, out of Harvard, also has suggested the potential for light therapy as a “washing machine” for the brain, eliminating beta-amyloid plaque build-up in the brain, which is thought to be responsible for dementia such as Alzheimer’s.
As the benefits of light and/or sound therapy continue to be validated, new devices are being developed for the senior market that easily deliver these treatments. The potential for non-invasive treatments for cognitive disorders opens up the possibility that senior care and living providers could offer these tools on-site or at home, without a resident needing to visit a hospital.
A bike helmet produced by healthtech start-up Neuronic uses light-therapy to treat dementia. The company has been partnering recently with memory care facilities for trial use, Neuronic executives told McKnight’s.
The light/sound study was recently published in the journal Science Translational Medicine.
