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Dementia cancer drug helps against forgetting
In one experiment, rats were given the cancer drug RGFP966. The researchers found that the animals remembered better. The rats developed new neuronal connections, which allowed the animals to transfer their memories between the brain cells, the researchers said in the "Journal of Neuroscience".
Is it conceivable that a cancer drug can cure dementia? Can it help to preserve nerve cells by "rewiring" the brain? Is it possible to hone your memory with a drug and even learn languages easier?
A cancer drug could sharpen the memory in dementia patients. (Image: vege / fotolia.com) Dementia soon curable?
With the onset of Alzheimer's or some other form of dementia, brain cells begin to shrink and then die. The synapses carry information from one neuron to the next. Due to the various forms of dementia, this exchange of information is slowing down. There are treatment methods to slow down the process. But unfortunately, there is still no way to cure the disease. But now there is new hope for those affected. An HDAC inhibitor that is used in various cancer treatments could help. This normally blocks the activity of genes that allow healthy cells to mutate into cancer cells. In the future, perhaps RGFP966 could be used to cure dementia.
Drug allows "better" saving memories
The drug helps make nerve cells more receptive to compounds. Researchers found that RGFP966 improves the ability to create memories. It could help stop dementia by "rewiring" the brain and keeping vital neurons alive. Once people are in advanced stages of the disease, a "restoration of memory" is poor or not possible at all. The drug could save the ability to create new memories that are rich in details and content, even in the worst cases. RGFP966 may even help to cure people with delayed language learning skills, said Kasia M. Bieszczad, co-author and lecturer at the Psychology Department, Behavioral and Systems Neuroscience at the State University of New Jersey, in a press release from the university. In addition, people could use it to learn a new language. Usually people remember experiences with limited details. Not everything we see, hear or feel remains in our memory. The drug makes memories more extensive, accurate and reliable, according to the researcher.
Better long-term memory through reorganized neurons
The activated hypersensitivity in the processing of auditory information, helps to reorganize the neurons and creates new connections. This is how more information gets into the long-term memory, Bieszczad explained. In this way, the drug could also help against the various forms of dementia. (As)