--- title: Alzheimer's: New Drug Can Reduce Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment description: Low doses of a drug used to treat epilepsy have been found to reverse a condition that increases the risk of developing Alzheimer's. canonical: https://time.com/3741766/alzheimers-amnestic-mild-cognitive-impairment-antiepileptic-levetiracetam/ author: Kevin McSpadden article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-03-12T08:11:25.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T05:06:12.854Z article:section: Health og:title: Drug Found to Reverse Alzheimer's Precursor og:description: Low doses can treat amnestic mild cognitive impairment og:url: https://time.com/3741766/alzheimers-amnestic-mild-cognitive-impairment-antiepileptic-levetiracetam/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Drug Found to Reverse Alzheimer's Precursor twitter:description: Low doses can treat amnestic mild cognitive impairment twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # A Drug Has Been Found That Reverses a Precursor to Alzheimer's by [Kevin McSpadden](https://time.com/author/kevin-mcspadden/) ## Kevin McSpadden Mar 12, 2015 8:11 AM UTC by [Kevin McSpadden](https://time.com/author/kevin-mcspadden/) ## Kevin McSpadden Mar 12, 2015 8:11 AM UTC Researchers at John Hopkins University have found that low doses of a drug more commonly used to treat epilepsy can [reverse a condition](http://releases.jhu.edu/2015/03/11/drug-restores-brain-function-and-memory-in-early-alzheimers-disease/) that increases the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. According to statements issued Wednesday, the epilepsy drug, called antiepileptic levetiracetam, calms hyperactivity in the brain — a well-documented symptom of people with amnestic mild cognitive impairment, which is a condition that heightens the possibility of developing Alzheimer’s disease. The team, lead by neuroscientist Michela Gallagher, now wants to pursue substantial clinical trials. “What we want to discover now, is whether treatment over a longer time will prevent further cognitive decline and delay or stop progression to Alzheimer’s dementia,” Gallagher said. The researchers studied 84 people with an average age of 70\. Participants received various doses of the drug, as well as a placebo, and the scientists used imaging technology to map brain activity. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3741766/alzheimers-amnestic-mild-cognitive-impairment-antiepileptic-levetiracetam/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3741766/alzheimers-amnestic-mild-cognitive-impairment-antiepileptic-levetiracetam/"},"headline":"A Drug Has Been Found That Reverses a Precursor to Alzheimer's","datePublished":"2015-03-12T08:11:25.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T05:06:12.854Z","description":"Researchers now want to proceed to substantial clinical trials","url":"https://time.com/3741766/alzheimers-amnestic-mild-cognitive-impairment-antiepileptic-levetiracetam/","keywords":["Neuroscience","Mental Health","Aging","study","Research","health","Dementia","Alzheimer's","Alzheimer's Disease"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Kevin McSpadden","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/kevin-mcspadden/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/neuroscience/","name":"Neuroscience"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3741766/alzheimers-amnestic-mild-cognitive-impairment-antiepileptic-levetiracetam/","name":"A Drug Has Been Found That Reverses a Precursor to Alzheimer's"}}]}] ```