Drug Directed at ApoE Production is Successful in Mouse Models of Alzheimer Disease

In Alzheimer disease (AD), excess β-amyloid in the brain is deposited in plaques that are associated with neurodegeneration and cognitive decline. However, no treatments or vaccines targeting β-amyloid have been effective and safe. Apolipoprotein E (apoE) helps clear β-amyloid from the brain. The production of apoE can be stimulated by bexarotene, a drug approved by the FDA to treat cutaneous T-cell lymphomas.

Now, a multicenter team has used bexarotene to treat three different strains of mice that overproduce β-amyloid and experience neurodegeneration and cognitive deficits. Oral administration of the drug increased expression of apoE in the brain and produced marked reductions in β-amyloid (both soluble and in plaques). Most important, bex…