Mice study shows cancer drug may help restore memory in Alzheimer's patients

In a new study, scientists tested cancer drug on Alzheimer's mice and found that it restored their memory.

Yale School of Medicine researchers saw that memory, as well as connections between brain cells, were restored in mice with the help of the drug AZD05030.

Developed by Astra Zeneca, the drug proved disappointing in treating solid tumors but appeared to block damage triggered during the formation of amyloid-beta plaques, a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease.

The new study has led to the launch of human trials to test the efficacy of AZD05030 in Alzheimer's patients.

Senior author of the study, Stephen M. Strittmatter said that with this treatment, cells under bombardment by beta amyloid plaques show restored synaptic connections and reduced inflammation, and the animal's memory, which was lost during the course of the disease, comes back.

In the last 5 years, scientists have developed a more complete understanding of the complex chain of events that leads to Alzheimer's disease. The new drug blocks one of those molecular steps, activation of the enzyme FYN, which leads to the loss of synaptic connections between brain cells. Several other steps in the disease process have the potential to be targets for new drugs, Strittmatter said.

The study is published in the journal Annals of Neurology.