Bexarotene is a drug currently prescribed by the FDA for the treatment of cancer. This medication has now shown its ability to restrict Alzheimer’s symptoms in a set of mice, as demonstrated by scientists at the Case Western Reserve University.
In the research, mice suffering from Alzheimer’s disease due to excess beta-amyloid in the brain were exposed to the drug bexarotene. As per the results, the mice treated with the medication appeared to function normally in terms of memory deficits and cognitive symptoms.
The drug apparently worked by eliminating the collection of beta-amyloid in the brain, which paved the path to reversal of symptoms and effective treatment of the disease. Moreover, the drug helped revive nesting behaviors in mice within a time-frame of 72 hours. These mice were deprived of nesting instances owing to the onset of Alzheimer’s.
“This is a particularly exciting and rewarding study because of the new science we have discovered and the potential promise of a therapy for Alzheimer’s disease. We need to be clear; the drug works quite well in mouse models of the disease. Our next objective is to ascertain if it acts similarly in humans. We are at an early state in translating this basic science discovery into a treatment,” commented Case Western Reserve neuroscientist and senior author of the study Gary Landreth, PhD.
Treatment with this medicine also seemed to improve the potential of the mice to detect and react to odors. Initially, the most effective technique to reverse Alzheimer’s symptoms in mice necessitated several months to discard the plague stored in the brain.
The team is hopeful that bexarotene may aid those millions affected by Alzheimer’s. This article is published in the journal, Science.