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A recent study by researchers at Case Western Reserve University is likely to promise a new life to Alzheimer’s victims and their loved ones.

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is associated with impaired clearance of β-amyloid (Aβ) from the brain, a process normally facilitated by apolipoprotein E (apoE). Oral administration of the retinoid X receptors (RXRs) agonist bexarotene to a mouse model of AD resulted in enhanced clearance of soluble Aβ within hours in an apoE-dependent manner. Aβ plaque area was reduced more than 50% within just 72 hours. Furthermore, bexarotene stimulated the rapid reversal of cognitive, social, and olfactory deficits and improved neural circuit function.

Thus, researchers hope and believe that, RXR activation stimulates physiological Aβ clearance mechanisms, resulting in the rapid reversal of a broad range of Aβ-induced deficits in humans as well.

Bexarotene has been approved for the treatment of cancer by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for more than a decade. It has a good safety and side-effect profile, which researchers hope will help speed the transition to clinical trials of the drug.

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Reported by: Dr. V. S. Karra, Ph.D