About 35 million people worldwide currently suffer from dementia and that number is expected to more than triple by the year 2050, in part because there is no cure or effective treatment of Alzheimer’s.
 

Researchers at the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy of the University Medical Center of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz found that acitretin stimulates the activity of an enzyme known as ADAM10 in the brain of Alzheimer's patients, Science Daily reports.

Past studies have shown this enzyme can suppress Alzheimer's disease-related effects such as impaired cognitive function.
 

“In order to further investigate the effect of the test substance on cognitive performance and to establish whether it can be used as a long-term treatment for Alzheimer's patients, larger clinical trials in which the substance is administered for longer periods will need to be undertaken,” the researchers wrote.