A collaborative study performed at the UC San Francisco and Gladstone Institutes, identified the potential of some cancer drugs in the reversal of Alzheimer’s, potentially slowing down or even reversing it’s symptoms.
Researchers analyzed millions of electronic patient medical records to show that those patients who were prescribed these cancer drugs were less likely to develop Alzheimer’s. When a combination of two cancer therapy drugs was tested on mouse models, it was found to reduce brain degeneration and even restored their ability to remember.
Alzheimer’s is most commonly attributed to the result of numerous alterations in many genes and proteins that together disrupt brain health. The existing data sources were analyzed and tested against over 1300 drugs, out of which 86 had the potential to reduce Alzheimer’s gene expression signatures in one cell type.
If this could become a viable treatment option for more cell types, would it mean a union of oncological and neurodegenerative treatment approaches? Share your thoughts.