Scientists at the Blanchette Rockefeller Neurosciences Institute have found that Bryostatin, a cancer drug, enhanced the formation of new connections in the brains of rats during memory storage. They believe that the drug could potentially increase normal memory capacity in people as well as repair and restore memory lost to disease, illness and trauma.
Daniel Alkon, M.D., and Jarin Hongpaisan, Ph.D., of the Institute, describe how Bryostatin stimulated the production of connections between neurons in the same structural way that memory storage does naturally, essentially rewiring the brain.
"There have been no effective drugs to promote brain repair," Dr. Alkon said. "Bryostatin and other BRNI drugs in this class could introduce a whole new era for brain repair. At the same time, we are now closer to understanding what controls the growth of synaptic 
connections in the adult brain. Diseases like Alzheimer's actually destroy synapses in the human brain. There is still no recognized cure," said Dr. Alkon. "In our animal studies with Bryostatin, damaged brains repaired synaptic connections of cells that were ruined from disease, giving the brain more capacity for memory. If this result is applicable to humans, this could be life-changing for Alzheimer's patients."
Using high powered electron microscopes scientists were able to directly see the synaptic connections between neurons and used molecular markers to label the connections to confirm the synaptogenesis induced by memory and Bryostatin.
Blanchette Rockefeller Neurosciences Institute is preparing to begin clinical trials of Bryostatin to confirm if the preclinical results can be generalized to humans.
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