The emerging role of bexarotene in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease: current evidence

In 2012, a novel approach to the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease was introduced, heralding a wave of excitement in the field of dementia. Bexarotene, a retinoid X receptor agonist, was shown to reverse neurodegeneration, improve cognition, and decrease levels of amyloid-β in transgenic mice expressing familial Alzheimer disease mutations. Since then, there has been widespread discussion about bexarotene, as well as a number of follow-up studies. Bexarotene is a unique compound, as it is approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for other purposes and there are reasonable data to justify its mechanism of action in dementia. This review discusses these studies and the emerging role of bexarotene in the clinical field of Alzheimer’s dementia.