World Brain Health Day: Alzheimer's research finds two cancer drugs could slow disease progression

World Brain Health Day, which is observed on July 22 every year, is a reminder to raise awareness and highlight the need for interventions to promote brain health at every stage of life. 

 

Among the various conditions that affect the brain, Alzheimer's, an ageing-related disorder in which cognitive function steadily declines, affecting speech and memory, affects millions across the globe every year. Various studies have been undertaken to understand the neurodegenerative disease and how it can be treated or prevented.

 

One such study compared the gene behaviour in Alzheimer's disease and found that a combination of two cancer drugs could slow the neurodegenerative disease in mice. This also promises to be effective in reversing symptoms in humans. 

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Scientists at the University of California, San Francisco, and Gladstone Institutes observed how gene behaviour was affected in Alzheimer's disease in a single brain cell. Later, the researchers looked at 1,300 drugs approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and which of them reversed the damage.

 

In the next stage of the study, experts analysed the records of patients who took some of these drugs and observed that they were less likely to get Alzheimer's. 

 

'Letrozole' and 'Irinotecan', both of which are cancer medications, were tested in a mouse model having Alzheimer's disease. It was found that brain degeneration was reduced and a restored ability to remember. 

 

"Alzheimer's disease comes with complex changes to the brain, which has made it tough to study and treat, but our computational tools opened up the possibility of tackling the complexity directly," said co-senior author Marina Sirota, professor of paediatrics and an interim director at the University of California.

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