A jab to halt Alzheimer’s could be available within a few years

June 23, 2007

Vaccine will save patients from worst symptoms of illness.

A revolutionary drug that stops Alzheimer’s disease in its tracks could be available within a few years. It could prevent people from reaching the devastating final stages of the illness, in which sufferers lose the ability to walk, talk and even swallow, and end up totally dependent on others. The jab, which is now being tested on patients, could be in widespread use in as little as six years.

The most common cause of dementia, Alzheimer’s affects around 500,000 Britons, with about 500 new cases diagnosed every day as people live longer. Treatment costs the NHS up to £14billion a year – more than it spends on strokes, heart disease and cancer combined. Existing drugs can delay the progress of the symptoms, but their effect wears off relatively quickly, allowing the disease to take its devastating course. In contrast, the new vaccine may be able to hold the disease at bay indefinitely. Professor Clive Ballard, of the Alzheimer’s Society, said: “A successful vaccine would be a groundbreaking treatment advance for the 25million people with Alzheimer’s disease worldwide.”

Vaccines are typically used to provide immunity to a disease as a preventive measure before it can develop, but this is an example of a therapeutic vaccine, used to treat a disease which has already developed. (Daily Mail)