Pharma

CWRU researchers: Drug shows promise in reducing Alzheimer’s plaque in brain

A drug that’s already approved by the FDA has shown promise in clearing away a […]

A drug that’s already approved by the FDA has shown promise in clearing away a plaque in the brain that’s associated with Alzheimer’s disease, Case Western Reserve University researchers have found.

The drug, bexarotene (brand name Targretin), in mice was able to reduce levels of Beta-amyloid plaque, a protein fragment that builds up in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s, according to a statement from the university.

Case touted the research as “a dramatic breakthrough in [the] effort to find a cure for Alzheimer’s disease,” but it’s important to note that research won’t mean anything for people suffering from Alzheimer’s until the results are replicated in humans, and that’ll likely take several years. Nonetheless, the findings certainly represent a ray of hope in someday treating Alzheimer’s patients.

“We were shocked and amazed,” Gary Landreth, the study’s senior author, told AFP. “Things like this had never, ever been seen before.”

The researchers said bexarotene works by elevating levels of a substance that clears away beta amyloid from the brain.”Think of this as a garbage disposal,” Landreth told AFP.

Bexarotene is generally used to treat a type of skin cancer.

CWRU researchers were struck by the speed with which bexarotene improved memory deficits and behavior as it also acted to reverse the pathology of Alzheimer’s. Within six hours of administering the drug, some amyloid levels dropped as much as 25 percent, according to the statement.

“This is an unprecedented finding,” said another of the study’s authors. “Previously, the best existing treatment for Alzheimer’s disease in mice required several months to reduce plaque in the brain.”

Landreth said he hoped to begin human testing “within the next few months.”

The brand-name version of bexarotene, Targretin, was developed by San Diego biotech company Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND), which received U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval on the drug in 1999. Eisai acquired Targretin and three other cancer products from Ligand in 2006 for $205 million. Targretin’s patents expire in 2016.

Shares0
Shares0