
A drug already used to treat certain forms of cancer may also be an effective therapy for Huntington’s disease (HD), according to a new study led by investigators at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). The same study also increases our understanding of how this drug (bexarotene), and other medications like it, may offer hope for other neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and Parkinson’s disease.
Findings from the new study were published recently in Science Translational Medicine, in an article entitled “PPARδ Activation by Bexarotene Promotes Neuroprotection by Restoring Bioenergetic and Quality Control Homeostasis.”
“It’s not just the response from the drugs, but the mechanistic pathways these drugs are targeting,” explained senior study investigator Albert La Spada, M.D., Ph.D., director of the forthcoming Duke Center for Neurodegeneration and Neurotherapeutics. “These pathways are relevant to other neurodegenerative disorders and potentially the aging process itself in addition to HD.”







