Gladstone researchers find epilepsy drug that may work for Alzheimer's patients

Dr. Lennart Mucke of Gladstone and UCSF.

A drug that already curbs epileptic seizures could be used to reverse memory loss and the loss of other brain functions in some Alzheimer's disease patients, researchers at the Gladstone Institutes discovered. Although preliminary and from studies of mice, the discovery could give new hope for patients with the debilitating brain disease. Because the drug already is approved by the Food and Drug Administration for epilepsy patients, it has several years of safety data, which could fast-track in-human studies and, eventually, its approval for Alzheimer's patients.