Anti-Cancer Drug May be Used to Treat Alzheimer's Disease

New research suggested that an anti-cancer drug might be effective in treating Alzheimer's Disease and dementia. The treatment will reportedly improve neuron form and function.

A new study published in the Journal of Neuroscience showed that the drug, called RGFP966, is used in cancer treatment to prevent the activation of genes that convert normal cells into cancerous form. The drug is a histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor.

Medical News Today cited that the drug also makes neurons in the brain more plastic, which will allow these to create connections and positive effects that boost memory. As a result, Alzheimer's disease and dementia patients might benefit. These affected individuals generally have weak and unstable synapses, which are responsible for transferring information from one neuron to the next and causing brain cells to shrink and eventually die.

Dr. Kasia M. Bieszczad, lead author of the research and assistant professor at the Department of Neurobiology and Behavior at the University of California-Irvine stated that when a patient is already in the advanced stages of Alzheimer's disease, the creation of memories and other neurological conditions are already poor or absent altogether. There is no cure to Alzheimer's disease at present.

The research team found promising results when they introduced RGFP966 to laboratory rats. The rats were more attentive to what they heard. They were able to remember more information as well as develop new connections that allowed the memories to be passed on from one brain cell to another. The rats that were given the anti-cancer drug were shown to respond and recall better than the rats that were not given the treatment. The enhanced ability to process sounds caused the neurons in the rats' brains more adept in reorganizing and creating new pathways. In effect, more of the data they learned were converted into long-term memory, the researchers stated.

"People normally remember an experience with limited detail; not everything we see, hear and feel is remembered. What has happened here is that memory becomes closer to a snapshot of the actual experience instead of being sparse, limited or inaccurate." the researchers wrote.

The findings hinted that the drug was useful in setting up the brain process as well as effectively store significant sounds. Science Recorder wrote that the two processes were important in both human speech and language. Hopefully, the drug and related treatment will successfully rewire the brain by keeping neurons alive and reverse the effects of neurological diseases like Alzheimer's and dementia.