- Scientists at the University of California, San Francisco, have identified two existing cancer drugs that may help lower the risk of Alzheimer's disease.
- Researchers screened over 1,300 candidate drugs, narrowing them down to five that showed potential for reducing Alzheimer's risk in human patients, including two cancer drugs.
- The selected drugs, letrozole (for breast cancer) and irinotecan (for colon and lung cancer), were tested on mice and appeared to improve memory and brain function.
- This finding is significant because developing new drugs for Alzheimer's is extremely costly and time-consuming, whereas repurposing existing ones could accelerate clinical trials.
- The study, published in the medical journal Cell, offers a promising new direction for treatment given that Alzheimer's affects millions and care costs are projected to rise substantially.
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