Drug hope in fight against Alzheimer’s
A common cholesterol-lowering drug may be effective against Alzheimer’s if given at an early stage of the disease, new research suggests.
The findings, from a mouse study carried out by Canadian scientists, add to laboratory evidence that cholesterol-lowering statins may prevent some of the symptoms of Alzheimer’s.
Earlier work by the same Canadian team showed that the drug simvastatin improved blood flow in the brains of year-old laboratory mice with Alzheimer’s.
The new study found it also boosted learning and memory – but only in younger six-month-old animals whose disease had not progressed far.