An experimental cancer drug axed over poor results may have the ability to reverse the effects of Alzheimer 's , experts have revealed . The drug was developed by the British pharmaceutical giant Astra Zeneca with the original aim of treating certain types of tumour , but was shelved after it proved ineffective . Scientists at Yale University in Connecticut in the US have revealed how the treatment , called AZDO5030 , restored memory in mice given Alzheimer 's disease . An experimental cancer drug axed over poor results may have the ability to reverse the effects of Alzheimer 's , experts have revealed ( file picture ) The drug worked by blocking a process that breaks nerve connections in the brain used to store memory . Researchers say the study has led to the launch of human trials to test the efficacy of the drug in Alzheimer 's patients . Stephen Strittmatter , the author of the report , published in Annals of Neurology , said : 'With this treatment , cells under bombardment by beta amyloid plaques show restored synaptic connections and reduced inflammation , and the animal ’ s memory , which was lost during the course of the disease , comes back . The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health which launched a programme to test failed drugs on different diseases . Mr Strittmatter and his co-author Christopher van Dyck have already started a 'multi-site clinical trial ' to determine whether the drug can also benefit Alzheimer 's patients . According to the Alzheimer 's Society , there are 850,000 people with dementia in Britain - a figure that includes 40,000 younger people . The charity estimates that 60,000 deaths are attributable to dementia every year and that there will be one million people with the disease in the UK by 2025 . It reports that the financial cost of dementia to the UK is £26billion a year . The Daily Express reports the charity 's head of research Dr James Pickett as giving the latest treatment a cautious welcome . He said : 'Drug development can take decades , so repurposing pre-existing drugs for dementia is a promising avenue to find new treatments as they have been shown to be safe to use in people and can lead to clinical trials sooner . 'As we learn more about the causes of dementia , there is hope that treatments we routinely use for other diseases may also work for people with dementia . '
drug called AZDO5030 originally used to treat certain types of cancer . Scientists say it has restored survival in mice with Alzheimer 's disease . Human trials have already been launched to test efficacy of drug in patients .