science alert Scientists Find 2 Existing Drugs Can Reverse Alzheimer's Brain Damage in Mice

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In efforts to beat Alzheimer's disease, researchers are looking at existing drugs that could tackle the condition, and a new study identifies two promising candidates that are currently used to treat cancer.

Already approved by regulators in the US – meaning potential clinical trials for Alzheimer's could start sooner – the drugs are letrozole (usually used to treat breast cancer) and irinotecan (usually used to treat colon and lung cancer).

 

Having picked out letrozole and irinotecan as the best candidates, the researchers tested them in mouse models of Alzheimer's. When used in tandem, the drugs were shown to reverse some of the brain changes brought on by the disease.

The harmful clumps of tau protein that build up in brains affected by Alzheimer's were reduced significantly, and the mice showed improvements in learning and memory tasks – two brain capabilities often impaired by Alzheimer's.

Scientists Find 2 Existing Drugs Can Reverse Alzheimer's Brain Damage in Mice

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This could be a major discovery.