Zostrianos
10th February 2012, 05:23
Some researchers tested a skin cancer drug on mice with Alzheimers, and the results were astounding.
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/health/2012/02/09/cancer-drug-erases-alzheimers-in-mice-but-what-about-men/
A drug typically used to treat skin cancer quickly reversed Alzheimers disease in mice, according to a study published today in the journal Science. Alzheimers researchers call the results exciting, but they remain cautious about the drugs ability to fight the disease in humans.
Researchers at Case Western Reserve University gave the drug to mice that had brain hallmarks of Alzheimers disease: abnormal protein plaques and tangles, which destroy the brains centers for memory and cognitive function.
Within hours of taking the drug, the plaques began to clear out of the mices brains. After three days on the drug, more than 50 percent of the Alzheimers plaques had disappeared, and the mice regained some of the cognitive and memory functions typically lost by the diseases march through the brain.
We were absolutely astounded and thrilled, said Paige Cramer, the studys lead author and a doctoral candidate at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. The research on treatments out there doesnt show such improvement with such speed.
The drug, bexarotene, is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of skin cancer. Cramer said it helps the body increase its stores of a key protein, called ApoE, which helps clear Alzheimers plaques from the brain.
As a consequence of aging, the ability to clear plaque from the brain goes down, and we are able to enhance ApoE, Cramer said. The benefit of this drug is we are just facilitating or enhancing Mother Nature.
But the drug must make the leap from success in mice to success in humans, which has foiled many other promising Alzheimers drugs. Researchers say bexarotene has an advantage because it is already approved by the FDA for use in humans.
Its still an animal study, and it still needs to be moved into humans. But it is exciting and is a novel approach, said Maria Carrillo, senior director of medical and scientific relations for the Alzheimers Association.
A host of potential drugs for Alzheimers disease have shown promise in early research, then failed to show any actual effectiveness against the disease upon further study. Most recently, in January, Pfizer and Medivation pulled the plug on clinical trials for dimebon, an antihistamine nasal spray that had shown some benefit for Alzheimers patients. The companies said the clinical trials failed to show that the drug actually worked against the disease.
Dr. William Klunk, co-director of the Alzheimers Disease Research Center at the University of Pittsburgh, said the current study on bexarotene opens an exciting new avenue for the potential successful treatment of the disease. But he remains cautiously optimistic.
We in this field have seen enough success in mouse studies not pan out in human studies to know this is just the beginning and theres a long way to go, Klunk said.
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/health/2012/02/09/cancer-drug-erases-alzheimers-in-mice-but-what-about-men/
A drug typically used to treat skin cancer quickly reversed Alzheimers disease in mice, according to a study published today in the journal Science. Alzheimers researchers call the results exciting, but they remain cautious about the drugs ability to fight the disease in humans.
Researchers at Case Western Reserve University gave the drug to mice that had brain hallmarks of Alzheimers disease: abnormal protein plaques and tangles, which destroy the brains centers for memory and cognitive function.
Within hours of taking the drug, the plaques began to clear out of the mices brains. After three days on the drug, more than 50 percent of the Alzheimers plaques had disappeared, and the mice regained some of the cognitive and memory functions typically lost by the diseases march through the brain.
We were absolutely astounded and thrilled, said Paige Cramer, the studys lead author and a doctoral candidate at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. The research on treatments out there doesnt show such improvement with such speed.
The drug, bexarotene, is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of skin cancer. Cramer said it helps the body increase its stores of a key protein, called ApoE, which helps clear Alzheimers plaques from the brain.
As a consequence of aging, the ability to clear plaque from the brain goes down, and we are able to enhance ApoE, Cramer said. The benefit of this drug is we are just facilitating or enhancing Mother Nature.
But the drug must make the leap from success in mice to success in humans, which has foiled many other promising Alzheimers drugs. Researchers say bexarotene has an advantage because it is already approved by the FDA for use in humans.
Its still an animal study, and it still needs to be moved into humans. But it is exciting and is a novel approach, said Maria Carrillo, senior director of medical and scientific relations for the Alzheimers Association.
A host of potential drugs for Alzheimers disease have shown promise in early research, then failed to show any actual effectiveness against the disease upon further study. Most recently, in January, Pfizer and Medivation pulled the plug on clinical trials for dimebon, an antihistamine nasal spray that had shown some benefit for Alzheimers patients. The companies said the clinical trials failed to show that the drug actually worked against the disease.
Dr. William Klunk, co-director of the Alzheimers Disease Research Center at the University of Pittsburgh, said the current study on bexarotene opens an exciting new avenue for the potential successful treatment of the disease. But he remains cautiously optimistic.
We in this field have seen enough success in mouse studies not pan out in human studies to know this is just the beginning and theres a long way to go, Klunk said.