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Skin Cancer Drug Reverses Alzheimer's Symptoms In Mice

Posted by timothy on from the with-very-few-exceptions-a-mouse-is-not-a-human-being dept.

An anonymous reader writes "A skin cancer drug may rapidly reverse pathological, cognitive and memory deterioration associated with Alzheimer's disease, according to new research published on Thursday. Bexarotene, a drug that is currently used to combat T cell lymphoma, appeared to reverse plaque buildup and improve memory in the brains of mice with Alzheimer's disease by reducing levels of beta-amyloid plaques in the brain that cause mental deficits in Alzheimer's disease."

4 of 94 comments (clear)

  1. Toxilogical Info by Draconi · · Score: 5, Informative

    RTECS No: not available
    Acute toxicity: oral toxicity (LD50): >1500 mg/kg (rat); >720 mg/kg (dog)
    Dermal NOEL: 0.01% (rat)
    Primary irritant effect:
    On the skin: not known; may be an irritant; exposure may exacerbate the deleterious effects of sunlight
    On the eye: not known; may be an irritant
    Ingestion: may cause effects similar to hypervitaminosis A including headache, nausea, vomiting, lip inflammation, mucous membrane dryness, joint pain, scaly skin, and hyperlipidemia

    ---

    Yeah. I'd still take it.

    1. Re:Toxilogical Info by Beardo+the+Bearded · · Score: 5, Informative

      Hey, if you have a lot of wanderers in your family, check out Project Lifesaver.

      They have a wrist-mounted transmitter that lets police and caregivers (who have the receivers) find wandering patients quickly and safely. 100% success rate.

      I wrote the code for the transmitters; it was done so well that they didn't need me anymore. (They got Microchip to program them by the reel.)

      --

      ---
      ECHELON is a government program to find words like bomb, jihad, plutonium, assassinate, and anarchy.
    2. Re:Toxilogical Info by geekoid · · Score: 4, Informative

      The lesson is, when you autmate and make things more effeicent, never tell anyone.

      Years ago I went to work some place, on a team of 12 support people. Because they way there system works, it took 15 minutes after the code to get all the data into their varies systems.

      I wrote a script that did it in 25 seconds.
      So, the didn't need as many people, so the let me go.

      I'm standing there saying "Why are you letting go the guy who improves that's? Let one of those people go who sit there and do as little as possible? They mumble some nonsense.

      --
      The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
  2. Re:painful advances by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    This is already approved for use in humans. You can find a doctor who will prescribe it off-label. I'd do it in a heartbeat, as none of the side effects even register on the scale of horror that is Alzheimer's.