A study has revealed that when a cancer drug, RGFP966, was administered to rats, they were more receptive to hearing and were able to retain information better, Science World Report reports.

The findings were published in the Journal of Neuroscience. 

In cases of dementia, as in Alzheimer's, disease, the brain cells shrink and die. There is no treatment to reverse the death of brain cells, though there are drugs that may slow the progression of the disease.

The cancer drug, RGFP966, a HDAC inhibitor, is currently being used in various cancer therapies to block the activation of genes that transform normal cells into cancerous ones. Scientists now believe that this cancer drug can be used in future to treat cases of dementia.

"People learning to speak again after a disease or injury as well as those undergoing cochlear implantation to reverse previous deafness, may be helped by this type of therapeutic treatment in the future," said Kasia M. Bieszczad, lead author and assistant professor in Behavioral and Systems Neuroscience in the Department of Psychology, in a news release.

"The application could even extend to people with delayed language learning abilities or people trying to learn a second language."

"People normally remember an experience with limited detail -- not everything we see, hear and feel is remembered," she said. "What has happened here is that memory becomes closer to a snapshot of the actual experience instead of being sparse, limited or inaccurate."