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Skin cancer drug 'clears Alzheimer's protein in mice'
February 10, 2012
Scientists hope that an existing skin cancer drug could be used to treat Alzheimer's disease.
A drug given to patients with skin cancer could also have a role to play in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease, early research suggests.
US scientists studied the effects of a drug called bexarotene in mice which had been bred to develop high levels of amyloid - a protein that build up in the brains of people with Alzheimer's disease.
They found that the drug quickly reduced levels of amyloid in the brain, as well as achieving a progressive reduction in protein levels over time.
Mice that were given bexarotene also showed improvements in cognitive and behavioural tests.
Professor Gary Landreth, a neuroscientist at Case Western Reserve University in the US, said the findings were "exciting".
But he cautioned: "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 stage in translating this basic science discovery into a treatment."
The findings, which are published in Science journal, were welcomed by Alzheimer's Research UK.
Head of research Dr Simon Ridley said: "We would need to see the results of clinical trials before we could know whether bexarotene could prove beneficial for people with Alzheimer's - and it would also be important to weigh up the risks of any potential side-effects."
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