Abdominal Ultrasound Changes Brain Pathology in Aging Mice Without Significant Memory Improvement
Published in Brain/Neurology, Journals, Noninvasive.
Published October 20, 2026.
An accepted manuscript published October 19 in The Journals of Gerontology: Series A reports that abdominal ultrasound improved several brain pathology measures in a mouse model of accelerated aging. However, the treatment did not significantly improve object recognition or spatial memory.
Hanlin Jiang and colleagues at Kobe University treated six-month-old male SAMP8 mice for one month. Compared with sham treatment, ultrasound preserved neurons in the hippocampal CA3 region, reduced amyloid-beta in selected brain regions, lowered tau hyperphosphorylation and changed markers of glial activity and synapses. Neuronal survival in the cortex and CA1 did not differ significantly.
The researchers also measured four selected gut bacterial groups. Tyzzerella decreased significantly, while changes in the other three groups were not statistically significant. Only four of 64 exploratory associations between microbes and brain pathology remained significant after correction for multiple comparisons.
The results support further investigation of peripheral ultrasound and brain aging, but do not show that microbiome changes caused the brain effects. These findings in male mice do not establish a human dementia treatment, and the absence of a demonstrated memory benefit remains an important limitation.
Source: Jiang et al., The Journals of Gerontology: Series A, October 19, 2026.