An experimental drug aimed at combating Alzheimer's disease has been found to have host of unexpected anti-aging effects in animals.

Salk Institute researchers have found that the drug, called J147, improved the memories of mice were treated with it. But the rodents also had healthier blood vessels in the brain and other improved physiological features, compared to those not given J147.

The findings, reported in the journal Aging, suggest the drug could have significant implications for people, too.

"Initially, the impetus was to test this drug in a novel animal model that was more similar to 99 percent of Alzheimer's cases," said lead researcher Antonio Currais. "We did not predict we'd see this sort of anti-aging effect, but J147 made old mice look like they were young, based upon a number of physiological parameters."

Alzheimer's disease affects more than five million Americans and is the most common cause of dementia, according to the National Institutes of Health.

"While most drugs developed in the past 20 years target the amyloid plaque deposits in the brain (which are a hallmark of the disease), none have proven effective in the clinic," said David Schubert, who heads up the Cellular Neurobiology Laboratory at Salk that conducted the research.

In previous studies, Schubert and his colleagues found that J147 could prevent and even reverse memory loss and Alzheimer's pathology in mice that have a version of the inherited form of Alzheimer's.

But the latest work found the mice treated with J147 had fewer pathological signs of Alzheimer's in their brains, as well as increased energy metabolism, reduced brain inflammation, and reduced levels of oxidized fatty acids in the brain.

The drug also prevented the leakage of blood from the microvessels in the brains of old mice.
"Damaged blood vessels are a common feature of aging in general, and in Alzheimer's, it is frequently much worse," said Currais.

The researchers now hope to test the drug in human clinical trials for Alzheimer's disease, starting as early as next year.

"If proven safe and effective for Alzheimer's, the apparent anti-aging effect of J147 would be a welcome benefit," said Schubert.