Friday, February 10, 2012

Alzheimer


A Cancer Drug Reverses Alzheimer’s Disease in Mice

Mice are not men, so let's not get too excited yet, but scientists have discovered that an existing cancer drug quickly reverses Alzheimer's symptoms in rodents.

Jacob Halaska / Getty Images
JACOB HALASKA / GETTY IMAGES
Researchers at Case Western Reserve University have discovered that a drug currently used to treat cancer patients can reverse the cognitive deficits related to Alzheimer’s disease in mice, and what’s more, it accomplishes this feat in a remarkably short period of time.
The drug, called bexarotene, has been approved for the treatment of a type of skin cancer since 1999. In the new experiments with genetically engineered mice, the drug quickly cleared away the beta-amyloid plaques in the brain that are believed to cause cognitive deficits in Alzheimer’s disease./.../


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