by Scientists have identified two cancer medication that can also reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease if they are looking for a way to reduce their effects on an aging population.
In a study published on Monday in the Medical Journal Cell, researchers from the University of California in San Francisco combed more than 1,300 candidate medication – from antipsychotics to antibiotics – to alleviate everything that could help alleviate the incurable condition.
Only 90 of these drugs aimed at the brain cell genes, which were assumed that they influence Alzheimer’s, and of only five indications that the risk of Alzheimer’s in human patients was actually reduced.
The scientists then chose letrozole, which were intended to combat breast cancer and Irinotecan for the treatment of colon and lung cancer to test mice.
“We did not expect cancer medication to appear,” the co-author of the study, Marina Sirota, told NBC News.
In fact, the two medication used in combination seemed to improve memory and brain function in aging mice that had started to show signs of dementia.
This result still has to be tested in humans, and the medication can be less effective in humans. Nevertheless, the knowledge is important because pharmaceutical companies have so far had difficulty developing specially built medication for the disease.
“The development of a new medicine can take an average of more than ten years on average,” said the co-author of the study, Dr. Yadong Huang.
“It usually only takes two or three years for this converted medication, and then you can go to the clinical study and the costs are much, much lower.
“We still have not produced or produced very effective medication that can dramatically slow down cognitive decline,” he added.
According to the Alzheimer Association, over seven million Americans live with Alzheimer’s disease, including 1 out of 9 people aged over 65.
The number will probably only increase, since the average age of the US population continues to increase. The nursing costs for people with dementia are expected to grow from $ 384 billion in 2025 to almost 1 trillion US dollar by 2050.
