Two NHS drugs slows and could REVERSE devastating Alzheimer's, ‘exciting' study finds

Scottish Sun

21-07-2025

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TWO NHS drugs could be combined to treat, and even reverse, the most common form of dementia, scientists claim.
A pair of cancer drugs have been identified as a powerful duo that may tackle Alzheimer's disease, after scientists sifted through 1,300 approved medicines.
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Alzheimer's was reversed in mice
Credit: Alamy
The American team used cutting-edge computer tools to match the gene changes seen in Alzheimer's patients with medicines that reverse those effects.
They found that two cancer drugs, both already available on the NHS, reduced brain degeneration in mice with the disease, and even brought back their memory.
The study, from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), first looked at how Alzheimer's alters the activity of individual brain cells.
They then searched for existing drugs that trigger the opposite changes, with the aim of rewiring damaged neurons and brain cells called glia.
And when they tested the top two candidates, letrozole and irinotecan, in lab mice, the results were impressive.
One theory of how Alzheimer's comes about is that sticky proteins - like amyloid-beta - start clumping together in the brain years before symptoms appear.
These toxic clumps block communication between brain cells and trigger inflammation, eventually causing the cells to die.
Some scientists believe this buildup is the root cause of Alzheimer's, so clearing it could stop the disease in its tracks.
When combined, the cancer drugs not only halted brain cell damage but also undid toxic clumps of proteins, restored memory and reversed the disease's genetic footprint.
Prof Marina Sirota, senior author, said: 'We're excited that our computational approach led us to a potential combination therapy for Alzheimer's based on existing FDA-approved medications.'
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She added: 'Alzheimer's disease comes with complex changes to the brain, which has made it tough to study and treat — but our tools opened up the possibility of tackling that complexity directly.'
The scientists then trawled through the anonymised medical records of 1.4million over-65s and found those already taking the cancer drugs were less likely to develop Alzheimer's.
Dr Yaqiao Li, the study's lead author, said: 'Thanks to all these existing data sources, we went from 1,300 drugs, to 86, to 10, to just five.
'In particular, the rich data collected by all the UC health centres pointed us straight to the most promising drugs. It's kind of like a mock clinical trial.'
Letrozole is typically used to treat breast cancer, while irinotecan is prescribed for colon and lung cancer. Both are already used in the UK.
'So exciting'
Prof Yadong Huang, co-senior author, said: 'Alzheimer's is likely the result of numerous alterations in many genes and proteins that, together, disrupt brain health.
'This makes it very challenging for drug development - which traditionally produces one drug for a single gene or protein that drives disease.'
He added: 'It's so exciting to see the validation of the computational data in a widely used Alzheimer's mouse model.'
The breakthrough, published in the journal Cell, could fast-track trials in humans.
Prof Sirota said: 'If completely independent data sources, such as single-cell expression data and clinical records, guide us to the same pathways and the same drugs and then resolve Alzheimer's in a genetic model then maybe we're onto something.'
She added: 'We're hopeful this can be swiftly translated into a real solution for millions of patients with Alzheimer's.'
Alzheimer's causes a relentless decline in cognition, learning, and memory.
But decades of research have only produced two FDA-approved drugs, neither of which can meaningfully slow the decline. In the UK, no disease-modifying drugs are currently approved or available.
Instead, the UK relies on symptom-managing drugs, such as Donepezil and Rivastigmine.