An anti-depressant and an experimental cancer drug may have potential as disease-modifying treatments for Parkinson’s.

Two drugs developed to treat other diseases—Trazodone, an antidepressant—and Dibenzoylmethane, an experimental cancer drug derived from licorice—prevented brain damage associated with neurodegeneration in mouse models. More research is needed to confirm the effect in humans.

Current treatments for Parkinson’s only treat symptoms, not the disease’s underlying cause. These two drugs have shown promising early results as treatments that may actually interfere with the disease’s progression. Trazodone is already approved for the treatment of depression, potentially shortening its road to the clinic as therapy for Parkinson’s and other diseases.

Scientists screened more than 1,000 compounds in worm and cellular models to determine whether any of them could potentially interfere with neurodegeneration. After narrowing down the list, they identified two drugs—Trazodone and Dibenzoylmethane—as promising potential therapies for Parkinson’s using mouse models. Both drugs prevented brain damage, restored memory and reduced brain shrinkage in the models.