Abstract:
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a prevailing public health concern as it causes neuronal
degeneration resulting in cognitive impairment and memory loss with epidemiology of twofold increase in every five years, which is predicted to double by 2060. There is no effective
treatment exists currently which highlights the importance of development of a novel
therapeutic mechanism to treat AD. In addition to it, various studies show that the medicines
and therapies have been in practice, including phototherapy, which shows symptomatic
improvement only. Therefore, this study evaluated the effectiveness of a combination of drugs
and phototherapy on AlCl3 induced male Balb/c mice models of AD. A phototherapy device
prototype, featuring variable wavelengths ranging from 400nm-750nm by using RGB LEDs
and the ESP32 microcontroller is designed in this study. The software design is created with
VERO and Platform IO, featuring an intuitive interface that can be accessed from any device
on the local network. A 625nm wavelength light, targeting the mice brain, held 2-3cm above
head was used for the phototherapy. Galantamine and Memantine drugs were also administered
through intra-peritoneal route at the same time to investigate the combined effect of
phototherapy and drugs. Behavioral assessments were performed to validate the enhancement
in cognitive deficits and spatial learning and memory. Memantine and phototherapy
combination treatment group analysis displayed increased locomotor activity, spatial memory
and cognitive improvements thus indicating enhanced cognitive abilities and memory retention
in object recognition, elevated plus maze, y-maze, morris water maze and open field
assessments while comparing to the diseased and alone drugs group. Behaviour analysis were
followed by the dissection of mice for histological analysis, including H&E staining of cerebral
and hippocampal tissues to verify the presence of healthy neuronal cells. Histology revealed
improved cell morphology in the combination treatment groups (phototherapy-drug) compared
to administering drugs alone, signifying the neuroprotective role of phototherapy in
combination, as a novel therapeutic approach. The findings of this study suggests the use of
combination therapies in the treatment of AD along with other neurodegenerative diseases
