Reversing memory deficits and impairments in spatial learning is a major goal in dementia research. A lack of knowledge about cellular pathways critical to the development of dementia has prevented significant clinical advance. Researchers are breaking through that barrier. They show, for the first time in an animal model, that a drug can reverse tau pathology -- the second-most important lesion in the brain in patients with Alzheimer's
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"Inflammation was completely gone from tau mice treated with the drug," Dr. Praticò said. "The therapy shut down inflammatory processes in the brain, allowing the tau damage to be reversed."
The study is especially exciting because zileuton is already approved by the Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of asthma. "Leukotrienes are in the lungs and the brain, but we now know that in addition to their functional role in asthma, they also have a functional role in dementia," Dr. Praticò explained.
"This is an old drug for a new disease," he added. "The research could soon be translated to the clinic, to human patients with Alzheimer's disease."

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Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2018 Jun;99(6):1149-1159.e1. doi: 10.1016/j.apmr.2018.01.013. Epub 2018 Feb 8.Königs M1, Beurskens EA2, Snoep L2, Scherder EJ2, Oosterlaan J3.
Author informationAbstractOBJECTIVE:To systematically review evidence on the effects of timing and intensity of neurorehabilitation on the functional recovery of patients with moderate to severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) and aggregate the available evidence using meta-analytic methods.
DATA SOURCES:PubMed, Embase, PsycINFO, and Cochrane Database.
STUDY SELECTION:Electronic databases were searched for prospective controlled clinical trials assessing the effect of timing or intensity of multidisciplinary neurorehabilitation programs on functional outcome of patients with moderate or severe TBI. A total of 5961 unique records were screened for relevance, of which 58 full-text articles were assessed for eligibility by 2 independent authors. Eleven articles were included for systematic review and meta-analysis.
DATA EXTRACTION:Two independent authors performed data extraction and risk of bias analysis using the Cochrane Collaboration tool. Discrepancies between authors were resolved by consensus.
DATA SYNTHESIS:Systematic review of a total of 6 randomized controlled trials, 1 quasi-randomized trial, and 4 controlled trials revealed consistent evidence for a beneficial effect of early onset neurorehabilitation in the trauma center and intensive neurorehabilitation in the rehabilitation facility on functional outcome compared with usual care. Meta-analytic quantification revealed a large-sized positive effect for early onset rehabilitation programs (d=1.02; P<.001; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.56-1.47) and a medium-sized positive effect for intensive neurorehabilitation programs (d=.67; P<.001; 95% CI, .38-.97) compared with usual care. These effects were replicated based solely on studies with a low overall risk of bias.
CONCLUSIONS:The available evidence indicates that early onset neurorehabilitation in the trauma center and more intensive neurorehabilitation in the rehabilitation facility promote functional recovery of patients with moderate to severe TBI compared with usual care. These findings support the integration of early onset and more intensive neurorehabilitation in the chain of care for patients with TBI.
Copyright © 2018 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.