BBC News
US scientists say they have successfully reversed the effects of Alzheimer's with experimental drugs.
The drugs target and boost the function of a newly pinpointed gene involved in the brain's memory formation.
In mice, the treatment helped restore long-term memory and improve learning for new tasks, Nature reports.
The same drugs - HDAC inhibitors - are currently being tested to treat Huntington's disease and are on the market to treat some cancers.
They reshape the DNA scaffolding that supports and controls the expression of genes in the brain.
The Alzheimer's gene the drugs act upon, histone deacetylase 2 (HDAC2), regulates the expression of a plethora of genes implicated in plasticity - the brain's ability to change in response to experience - and memory formation.
This findings build on the team's 2007 breakthrough in which mice with symptoms of Alzheimer's disease regained long-term memories and the ability to learn. Read more...
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