Destructive plaques found in the brains of Alzheimer's patients have been rapidly cleared by researchers testing a cancer drug on mice.
The US study, published in the journal Science, reported the plaques were broken down at "unprecedented" speed.
Clearing protein plaques is a major focus of Alzheimer's research and drugs are already being tested in human clinical trials.
In the body, the role of removing beta-amyloid falls to apolipoprotein E - or ApoE. However, people have different versions of the protein. Having the ApoE4 genetic variant is one of the biggest risk factors for developing the disease.
Scientists at the Case Western Reserve University in Ohio were investigating ways of boosting levels of ApoE, which in theory should reduce levels of beta-amyloid.
They tested bexarotene, which has been approved for use to treat cancers in the skin, on mice with an illness similar to Alzheimer's.
Plaques, in brown, form around brain cells, in blue, which kills parts of the brain
After one dose in young mice, the levels of beta-amyloid in the brain were "rapidly lowered" within six hours and a 25% reduction was sustained for 70 hours.
Its research manager, Dr Anne Corbett, said: "This exciting study could be the beginning of a journey towards a potential new way to treat Alzheimer's disease.
Dr Simon Ridley, head of research at Alzheimer's Research UK, said the findings were "promising" but any effect was still unproven in people.
David Allsop, professor of neuroscience at Lancaster University, said: "I would say that the results should be treated with cautious optimism.
No comments:
Post a Comment