Latest news with #YadongHuang
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Scientists Find 2 Existing Drugs Can Reverse Alzheimer's Brain Damage in Mice
In efforts to beat Alzheimer's disease, researchers are looking at existing drugs that could tackle the condition, and a new study identifies two promising candidates that are currently used to treat cancer. Already approved by regulators in the US – meaning potential clinical trials for Alzheimer's could start sooner – the drugs are letrozole (usually used to treat breast cancer) and irinotecan (usually used to treat colon and lung cancer). Researchers from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and Gladstone Institutes started by looking at how Alzheimer's altered gene expression in the brain. They then consulted a medical database called the Connectivity Map to look for drugs that reversed these gene expression changes, and cross-referenced records of patients who had taken these drugs as part of cancer treatments and their likelihood of developing Alzheimer's. Intriguingly, the drugs seemed to have reduced their risk. Related: "Alzheimer's disease comes with complex changes to the brain, which has made it tough to study and treat, but our computational tools opened up the possibility of tackling the complexity directly," says computational biologist Marina Sirota, from UCSF. "We're excited that our computational approach led us to a potential combination therapy for Alzheimer's based on existing FDA-approved medications." Having picked out letrozole and irinotecan as the best candidates, the researchers tested them in mouse models of Alzheimer's. When used in tandem, the drugs were shown to reverse some of the brain changes brought on by the disease. The harmful clumps of tau protein that build up in brains affected by Alzheimer's were reduced significantly, and the mice showed improvements in learning and memory tasks – two brain capabilities often impaired by Alzheimer's. By combining the two drugs together, the researchers were able to target different types of brain cells affected by the disease. Letorozole seemed to counter Alzheimer's in neurons, while irinotecan worked in glia. "Alzheimer's is likely the result of numerous alterations in many genes and proteins that, together, disrupt brain health," says neuroscientist Yadong Huang, from UCSF and Gladstone. "This makes it very challenging for drug development – which traditionally produces one drug for a single gene or protein that drives disease." It's a promising start, but there's more work to be done: obviously the drugs have only been directly tested in mice so far, and these medications also come with side effects attached. They need to be reconsidered if the drugs are going to be repurposed for a different disease than what they were originally approved for. One of the next steps should be clinical trials for people with Alzheimer's disease. According to the researchers, this approach could lead to more personalized and effective treatments, based on how gene expression has been altered in each case. It's estimated that more than 55 million people have Alzheimer's today, and as the world's population ages, that's expected to more than double in the next 25 years. Finding ways to prevent the disease and even reverse symptoms would have a huge impact on global health. "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 on to something," says Sirota. "We're hopeful this can be swiftly translated into a real solution for millions of patients with Alzheimer's." The research has been published in Cell. Related News Psilocybin Extends Life of Human Cells by 50% in Wild New Study Celebrity Undergoes Controversial Procedure to Clean Blood of Microplastics COVID Can Cause Alzheimer's-Like Plaques in Eyes And Brain Solve the daily Crossword
New York Post
4 days ago
- Health
- New York Post
Breakthrough as two FDA-approved drugs are found to reverse Alzheimer's — including restoring memory
In a stunning scientific discovery, researchers have found that a pair of drugs can not only slow down Alzheimer's disease but actually reverse it and restore memory in mice. And the best part of all? Both are already FDA-approved — albeit for cancer. Researchers first pinpointed how Alzheimer's disease scrambles gene activity in individual brain cells. 3 Researchers have found that a pair of drugs can not only slow down Alzheimer's disease but actually reverse it and restore memory in mice. Pixel-Shot – Using the Connectivity Map database of 1,300 FDA‑approved drugs, the researchers looked for medications that reverse Alzheimer's‑associated gene expression — landing on a shortlist of five, and zeroing in on two cancer drugs. In what one researcher called a 'mock clinical trial,' they then mined 1.4 million patients' medical records, finding that those who had taken letrozole or irinotecan for cancer were significantly less likely to develop Alzheimer's. When given together in an aggressive Alzheimer's mouse model, letrozole — used to treat certain types of breast cancer in postmenopausal women — and irinotecan — an anti-cancer medication used to treat colon cancer and small cell lung cancer — reversed disease‑related gene expression signatures, dissolved toxic tau protein clumps and prevented brain degeneration. Most importantly, they restored memory and learning in mice that had already developed severe symptoms. It's an exciting development for an illness that's notoriously tricky. 3 Letrozole — used to treat certain types of breast cancer in postmenopausal women — and irinotecan — an anti-cancer medication used to treat colon cancer and small cell lung cancer — reversed disease‑related gene expression signatures, dissolved toxic tau protein clumps and prevented brain degeneration. Eric Hood – 'Alzheimer's disease comes with complex changes to the brain, which has made it tough to study and treat, but our computational tools opened up the possibility of tackling the complexity directly,' Marina Sirota, the interim director of the UCSF Bakar Computational Health Sciences Institute, said in a statement. 'We're excited that our computational approach led us to a potential combination therapy for Alzheimer's based on existing FDA-approved medications.' 'Alzheimer's is likely the result of numerous alterations in many genes and proteins that, together, disrupt brain health,' said Yadong Huang, a professor of neurology and pathology at UCSF. 'This makes it very challenging for drug development — which traditionally produces one drug for a single gene or protein that drives disease.' 3 'Alzheimer's is likely the result of numerous alterations in many genes and proteins that, together, disrupt brain health,' said Yadong Huang, a professor of neurology and pathology at UCSF. yurakrasil – The findings were published in the journal Cell. Both drugs are already FDA‑approved for other uses, which could dramatically speed up the path to human trials. However, because they are cancer drugs, repurposing them may be complex and risky. This finding adds to a growing number of potential Alzheimer's treatments. A compound found in rosemary and sage — carnosic acid — has been shown to reverse memory loss and reduce brain inflammation in mice with Alzheimer's, bringing their cognitive function back to near-normal levels. A study from Stanford Medicine found that seniors who received the shingles vaccine were 20% less likely to develop dementia over seven years. And researchers at Penn State and Stanford University discovered that a certain cancer drug could restore memory and brain function in early stage Alzheimer's models.
Yahoo
22-07-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
These two cancer drugs may help lower your risk of Alzheimer's disease, study shows
Scientists have identified two cancer drugs that may also lower the risk of Alzheimer's disease as they search for some way to lower its impact on an aging population. In a study published on Monday in the medical journal Cell, researchers from the University of California, San Francisco, combed through more than 1,300 candidate drugs — from antipsychotics to antibiotics — for anything that could help alleviate the incurable condition. Only 90 of those drugs targeted the brain cell genes thought to influence Alzheimer's, and of those only five showed evidence of actually reducing the risk of Alzheimer's in human patients. The scientists then chose letrozole, designed to fight breast cancer, and irinotecan, intended for treating colon and lung cancer, to test on mice. 'We didn't expect cancer drugs to come up," study co-author Marina Sirota told NBC News. In fact, the two drugs used in combination did appear to improve memory and brain function in aging mice who had begun to show signs of dementia. The effects still need to be proven in human studies (PA Wire) That result still needs to be tested in humans, and the drugs may prove less effective in humans. Still, the finding is significant because pharmaceutical companies have so far struggled to develop purpose-built drugs for the disease. "Developing a new drug can take hundreds of millions, or even billions, of dollars, on average take more than ten years," said study co-author Dr. Yadong Huang. "For this repurposed drug, usually it just takes two or three years, and then you can go to the clinical trial and the cost is much, much lower. "We still haven't generated or produced any very effective drugs that can really slow dramatically the cognitive decline," he added. Over seven million Americans live with Alzheimer's disease, according to the Alzheimer's Association, including 1 in 9 people aged over 65. The number is only likely to grow as the average age of the U.S. population continues to climb, with care costs for people with dementia projected to grow from $384 billion in 2025 to nearly $1 trillion by 2050.
Yahoo
22-07-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
These two cancer drugs may help lower your risk of Alzheimer's disease, study shows
Scientists have identified two cancer drugs that may also lower the risk of Alzheimer's disease as they search for some way to lower its impact on an aging population. In a study published on Monday in the medical journal Cell, researchers from the University of California, San Francisco, combed through more than 1,300 candidate drugs — from antipsychotics to antibiotics — for anything that could help alleviate the incurable condition. Only 90 of those drugs targeted the brain cell genes thought to influence Alzheimer's, and of those only five showed evidence of actually reducing the risk of Alzheimer's in human patients. The scientists then chose letrozole, designed to fight breast cancer, and irinotecan, intended for treating colon and lung cancer, to test on mice. 'We didn't expect cancer drugs to come up," study co-author Marina Sirota told NBC News. In fact, the two drugs used in combination did appear to improve memory and brain function in aging mice who had begun to show signs of dementia. The effects still need to be proven in human studies (PA Wire) That result still needs to be tested in humans, and the drugs may prove less effective in humans. Still, the finding is significant because pharmaceutical companies have so far struggled to develop purpose-built drugs for the disease. "Developing a new drug can take hundreds of millions, or even billions, of dollars, on average take more than ten years," said study co-author Dr. Yadong Huang. "For this repurposed drug, usually it just takes two or three years, and then you can go to the clinical trial and the cost is much, much lower. "We still haven't generated or produced any very effective drugs that can really slow dramatically the cognitive decline," he added. Over seven million Americans live with Alzheimer's disease, according to the Alzheimer's Association, including 1 in 9 people aged over 65. The number is only likely to grow as the average age of the U.S. population continues to climb, with care costs for people with dementia projected to grow from $384 billion in 2025 to nearly $1 trillion by 2050.
The Independent
22-07-2025
- Health
- The Independent
These two cancer drugs may help lower your risk of Alzheimer's disease, study shows
Scientists have identified two cancer drugs that may also lower the risk of Alzheimer's disease as they search for some way to lower its impact on an aging population. In a study published on Monday in the medical journal Cell, researchers from the University of California, San Francisco, combed through more than 1,300 candidate drugs — from antipsychotics to antibiotics — for anything that could help alleviate the incurable condition. Only 90 of those drugs targeted the brain cell genes thought to influence Alzheimer's, and of those only five showed evidence of actually reducing the risk of Alzheimer's in human patients. The scientists then chose letrozole, designed to fight breast cancer, and irinotecan, intended for treating colon and lung cancer, to test on mice. 'We didn't expect cancer drugs to come up," study co-author Marina Sirota told NBC News. In fact, the two drugs used in combination did appear to improve memory and brain function in aging mice who had begun to show signs of dementia. That result still needs to be tested in humans, and the drugs may prove less effective in humans. Still, the finding is significant because pharmaceutical companies have so far struggled to develop purpose-built drugs for the disease. "Developing a new drug can take hundreds of millions, or even billions, of dollars, on average take more than ten years," said study co-author Dr. Yadong Huang. "For this repurposed drug, usually it just takes two or three years, and then you can go to the clinical trial and the cost is much, much lower. "We still haven't generated or produced any very effective drugs that can really slow dramatically the cognitive decline," he added. Over seven million Americans live with Alzheimer's disease, according to the Alzheimer's Association, including 1 in 9 people aged over 65. The number is only likely to grow as the average age of the U.S. population continues to climb, with care costs for people with dementia projected to grow from $384 billion in 2025 to nearly $1 trillion by 2050.
