The skin cancer drug bexarotene may reverse Alzheimer's symptoms, study say on BrowseBiography

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The skin cancer drug bexarotene may reverse Alzheimer's symptoms, study say

Researchers reported Thursday that bexarotene, a cancer drug sold by Eisai Co., reversed Alzheimer's symptoms in mice. The drug has been approved for the treatement of a type of skin cancer since 1999, and it seems that it reverse Alzheimer's symptoms in mice, according to a report from Los Angeles Times.

Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine neuroscientist Gary Landreth and colleagues reported Thursday that bexarotene quickly cleared away beta-amyloid plaque, believed to cause the cognitive deficits of Alzheimer's disease, from the brains of genetically engineered mice. Mice who received bexarotene treatment regained memory and cognitive function, including improvements in their sense of smell, the neuroscientists said. More, it was reported that its effects took hold quickly, with half of plaques removed within 72 hours.

Paige Cramer, a Ph.D. candidate at Case Western Reserve, said in a statement that the research had produced "an unprecedented finding," noting that the previous best treatment for Alzheimer's in mice took several months to reduce plaque. Meanwhile, scientists who weren't involved in the study published online in the journal Science, said that this suggested a tantalizing new avenue of inquiry for Alzheimer's drug research, but that even under the best of circumstances, it would take six years or longer before bexarotene might be used to treat people with the degenerative brain disease, but most of all it would have to work.


 
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