Alzheimer's drug that shows anti-ageing effects

"We did not predict we would see this sort of anti-ageing effect, but J147 made old mice look like they were young, based upon a number of physiological parametres," said study lead author Antonio Currais from Salk Institute for Biological Studies in California, US.

Alzheimer's disease is a progressive brain disorder.

"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," senior author of the study professor David Schubert from Salk Institute noted.

Several years ago, Schubert and his colleagues began to approach the treatment of the disease from a new angle.

Rather than target amyloid, the lab decided to zero in on the major risk factor for the disease - old age.

Using cell-based screens against old age-associated brain toxicities, they synthesized J147.

The findings were detailed in the journal Aging.