A new study has found that a drug initially developed as a cancer therapy could be utilized to treat Alzheimer's disease, The Washington Post reported.
The research team showed that saracatinib restores memory loss and reverses cognitive problems in mice suffering from Alzheimer's disease. At present, scientists are testing the effectiveness of the drug saracatinib in humans. The biopharmaceutical company AstraZeneca earlier developed the drug saracatinib to treat cancer.
Alzheimer's disease is the most common cause of dementia in older people. Dementia is a group of disorders that lead to memory loss and other mental processes. According to the Alzheimer's Association, approximately 5.3 million people in America have Alzheimer's disease in 2015. In addition, Alzheimer's disease causes loss of synapses, the spaces between neurons through which cells interact with each other and build memories.
Scientists at the Yale University discovered that the formerly approved drug targeted deposits of beta amyloid protein and decreased their harmful effects on neighboring brain cells. The accumulation of amyloid beta protein in the brain is one of the hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease. The amyloid beta protein clusters destroy and kill brain cells.
In the study, mice suffering from symptoms associated with Alzheimer's disease, such as memory loss, were treated with the experimental drug. After four weeks, the mice showed a reversal of memory loss and spatial learning. The brains of the mice were analyzed and it was found that the synapse loss had been completely restored. In addition, the drug treatment decreased many other Alzheimer's-related biochemical changes in the mice. Moreover, the treatment did not appear to be toxic.
The study was carried out in partnership with the National Center for Translational Sciences (NCATS). Present drug therapies for Alzheimer's disease can relieve symptoms, but they cannot stop the development of the disease. New treatments are required to stop the disease progression.