Alzheimer's Families Clamor for Drug
In the wake of research suggesting a skin-cancer drug may have benefits in treating Alzheimer's disease, physicians and advocacy groups are getting a flurry of calls from patients seeking to use the drug off-label. But experts caution that more research is needed to determine whether the drug, bexarotene, is effective in humans at all, not to mention what the dosage should be. Dr. Sam Gandy, a neurology professor at Mount Sinai School of Medicine and associate director of the Mount Sinai Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, said he wasn't surprised to get inquiries from patients about bexarotene. "To patients and families who are this motivated, the idea of an off-label pill is not a major leap," he said.
- Dr. Sam Gandy, Professor, Neurology, Psychiatry, Associate Director of the Mount Sinai Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Mount Sinai School of Medicine
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