Histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors - cancer drugs currently used in clinical trials to attack cancerous tumors - has been found in mice study by UC Irvine scientists to enhance long-term memory and strengthen neural connections in the brain.

[This finding suggests that HDAC inhibitors could boost memory in humans and -- because of the way they work -- be therapeutic for people with Alzheimer's and Huntington's diseases and Rubenstein-Taybi syndrome (RTS).]

The scientists found that HDAC inhibitor relaxes the protein structure that organizes and compacts genomic DNA, thereby allowing for easier activation of genes involved in memory storage.

According to Marcelo Wood, assistant professor in the Department of Neurobiology and Behavior at UCI and an author of the study:

"We have demonstrated for the first time that HDAC inhibitors applied directly to the Hippocampus enhance memory and synaptic plasticity in the brain, and we now know a molecular mechanism through which these enhancements occur."

Findings have been published June 6 in the Journal of Neuroscience.

The very first HDAC inhibitor approved by the FDA is Merck's Zolinza™ (vorinostat) -approved in October 2006 for skin cancer.

Find more details from the full report.