UNIONVILLE TOWNSHIP —
A drug used to treat cancer patients might someday help stave off the debilitating effects of Alzheimer’s disease, according to a new study.
Researchers at Case Western Reserve University tested a drug called bexarotene on mice and found that it helped wipe out a nerve cell-damaging protein that’s linked to the disease.
Their study, published today in the journal Science, showed that the drug reduced the amount of amyloid beta by as much as 75 percent.
The Alzheimer’s-afflicted mice were able to resume normal behaviors, such as shredding paper for nest building, three days after treatment.
“No one, our selves included, would have ever imagined that any drug would have worked with this speed,” said lead researcher Gary Landreth.
Previous lab tests of other drugs that showed promise in mice produced little change in human patients, said Maria Carrillo, the Alzheimer’s Association’s medical and scientific relations director.
“We’re not sure that this is going to actually show the desired clinical benefits,” Carrillo said. “We owe it to ourselves and our constituents to follow every lead that we have.”
There are roughly 5.4 million Americans living with Alzheimer’s.
Landreth said his next step is to begin human trials with the drug.
“I want to be in the clinic within the next few months,” he said.
National News
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