Cutaneous T-cell lymphoma drug effective against Alzheimer's

A drug that has been approved for the treatment of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) for over ten years may provide the major treatment breakthrough in the fight against Alzheimer's disease.

The drug, bexarotene, is an oral drug approved for CTCL in patients who have received a previous therapy.

Researchers at Case Western University saw promise in bexarotene because of its mechanism of action: the drug is believed to boost expression of a protein called Apolipoprotein in the brain-- a protein that is chiefly responsible for clearing the brain of amyloid beta, the protein associated with the development of Alzheimer's by its build-up in the brain.

Using bexarotene in mice, researchers wrote in the journal Science that they were able to improve the cognitive abilities of mice with Alzheimer's and even reverse some of the disease's progressive effects.

The findings are being hailed as 'unprecedented' and could signal a potential treatment pathway in humans in the near future.

Source: Science