A helmet that zaps your brain with infrared light could help cure dementia, a study has found.
Researchers from Durham University have developed a device which shines light directly into the brain through the skull.
A trial found that wearing the helmet twice a day for six minutes at a time boosted memory, motor function and brain processing skills in healthy adults.
The scientists said that if the results were replicated in people with dementia it could be a 'game-changer' in the fight against the incurable disease, which affects 850,000 Britons.
The £7,250 helmet works through a process called 'photo biomodulation' where pulses of infrared light are directed deep into the brain.
The study saw 14 healthy Britons wear the helmet (pictured) for six minutes twice a day for one month, with infrared light was beamed into their brains at a wavelength of 1068 nanometres
Lead researcher Dr Paul Chazot (left), who has spent 20 years of studying particular infrared wavelengths for dementia treatment, pictured with GP Dr Gordon Dougal, who devised the helmet and Tracy Sloan who used it to improve her memory
It was devised by Dr Gordon Dougal, a GP in County Durham who worked with scientists to trial the so-called transcranial photobiomodulation therapy (PBM-T).
The study saw 14 healthy Britons, aged 45 and over, wear the helmet for six minutes twice a day for one month, with infrared light was beamed into their brains at a wavelength of 1068 nanometres.
A control group of 13 people who used a dummy helmet, and both groups were set tests before and after the treatments.
The researchers noted a significant improvement in performance in motor function, memory and brain processing speed, for those using the real helmet over those given the placebo.
They said the 'rapid improvement in memory performance' suggests infrared light treatment could be a 'game-changing therapy' for people with dementia. Further research will seek to establish if it could help reverse Alzheimer's.
Dr Dougal said the helmet 'may well help dying brain cells regenerate into functioning units once again'.
He added: 'Much more research is needed to fully understand the mechanism of action.' Research has shown wavelengths of infrared light help reverse nerve cell damage in dementia patients.
The treatment boosts mitochondria which gives cells their energy, which stimulates the brain to activate immune cells that sweep away toxic proteins linked to dementia.
Researchers believe the therapy also increase levels of nitric oxide, and therefore improves blood flow in the brain, making sure more oxygen can reach brain cells.
They hope
