It is estimated that about 35 million people worldwide currently suffer from dementia and it is expected that the number will increase to 135 million by the year 2050. The disease is already one of the most common health problems in the elderly, which is why experts predict that the numbers of people affected will increase over time. Researchers at the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy of the University Medical Center of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) have recently gained new insights into how it may in future be possible to treat patients with the currently most common form of dementia, Alzheimer's disease. It seems that a drug that is actually approved for treatment of the dermal disorder psoriasis stimulates the activity of the enzyme ADAM10 in the brain of Alzheimer's patients. There is already good evidence from basic research that this enzyme should be capable of suppressing Alzheimer's disease-related effects such as impaired cerebral function and that it thus might improve learning and memory capacity in patients. The results of the related study have recently been published in the journal Neurology.