A study in mice with the symptoms of Alzheimer's found the cancer drug Axitinib was efficacious in improving their condition, MedicalXpress has the story.
The drug, Axitinib, inhibits the growth of new blood vessels in the brain—a feature shared by both cancer tumors and Alzheimer's disease, but this hallmark represents a new target for Alzheimer's therapies.
Mice with Alzheimer's disease that underwent the therapy not only exhibited a reduction in blood vessels and other Alzheimer's markers in their brains, they also performed remarkably well in tests designed to measure learning and memory.
As Instapundit, who provided the link, likes to urge about such research, faster please. This just begs for someone to try off-label use with an Alzheimer's patient in the early stages. Or how about a similar patient who has cancer? Assuming Axitinib isn't often fatal, what would they have to lose?
Afterword: The other DrC tells me mouse brains are a particularly good research analog for human brains as both develop along similar paths. She knows more about the science of brain development than I.
