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drugs used to deal with Shingles, erectile dysfunctionAnd motor neuron disease can have surprising benefits in the fight against Alzheimer’s,
New research shows shingles vaccine zostavax and erection pill sildenafil There are existing medicines that may have additional use in treating or preventing the disease, which is the UK’s biggest killer.
The drugs have already received NHS approval, meaning if they prove effective they could be fast-tracked and used to help the millions of people in the UK who are thought to be living with the condition.
Developing brand new medicines can take 10 to 15 years and cost billions of pounds – with no guarantee that they will work. But scientists said repurposing drugs already approved for other conditions offers a fast, safe and cost-effective route to potential new treatments for dementia.
Experts analyzed 80 existing drugs to find out which ones might be helpful in treating or preventing dementia. From the study, they identified three top candidates that they said have promising potential for future research, the results of which have been published in the journal Alzheimer’s research and therapy.
The study by scientists at the University of Exeter found that Zostavax is the most promising existing drug that could be repurposed to treat or prevent Alzheimer’s disease. Previous research has suggested a link between herpes viruses and dementia due to changes in the immune system that are a known factor in the disease.
The shingles vaccine Zostavax works by interacting with the immune system which may help protect against some of these changes, which means it may also be beneficial for Alzheimer’s patients.
Previous studies suggest that people who were vaccinated may be 16 percent less likely to develop dementia.
The erectile dysfunction (ED) drug sildenafil – also known by the brand name Viagra – also had “strong promise.” This pill helps protect nerve cells and reduce the formation of protein tau in the brain. Tau is a protein that is naturally produced by our cells, but can form harmful clumps or “tangles” that are linked to dementia.
In trials involving rats, sildenafil also improved cognition, thought to be due to increased blood flow to the brain.
A third drug, riluzole, is currently used to treat motor neurone disease. Researchers found that riluzole showed “promising” results in improving cognition and reducing tau levels in animal studies.
Scientists now hope to conduct a larger clinical trial of this shingles vaccine in the UK, where participants will be monitored.
Dr Anne Corbett, professor of dementia research at the University of Exeter, said defeating dementia would require “every avenue of research”, including analysis of existing drugs.
“Drug repurposing is an important part of that mix, helping us turn a medicine today for one condition into a treatment for another condition tomorrow,” he said.
However, he stressed that the drugs need further investigation before they can be approved for use in people with Alzheimer’s.
“We now need to see robust clinical trials to understand their true value and know for sure whether they are effective for treating or preventing Alzheimer’s,” he said.
Professor Fiona Carragher, chief policy and research officer at the Alzheimer’s Society, said: “Dementia devastates lives, but we believe research will beat it.
“Years ago, we saw aspirin being repurposed to help people reduce their risk of heart attack or stroke rather than just a painkiller. That’s what we want to see in the field of dementia, and why we believe drug repurposing is one of the most exciting frontiers in dementia research.”