NHS trust joins Alzheimer's prevention drug trial
An NHS trust says it has become the first in Europe to join a trial examining if a new drug can delay or prevent the onset of Alzheimer's.
Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust is offering the drug Trontinemab to people at high risk of developing the disease and is the third site worldwide to do so.
The clinical trial is recruiting 1,600 healthy adults aged 55 to 80 internationally, with the Surrey and north east Hampshire trust recruit participants from anywhere in the UK.
Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia and accounts for 60% to 80% of the country's dementia cases, according to the NHS.
The progressive condition affects multiple brain functions. Symptoms typically develop gradually over many years and eventually become more severe.
The new drug attacks a sticky gunk called beta amyloid that builds up in the spaces between brain cells in Alzheimer's disease.
Researchers will use blood tests to identify people who are most likely to benefit from participating in the trial, the trust said.
Prof Ramin Nilforooshan, consultant psychiatrist and chief investigator for the trial, said research had "for decades" focused on treating Alzheimer's after symptoms appeared.
The trial "addresses a different question, whether we can act earlier, before symptoms begin", he said.
"We are very excited for the potential to help millions of people affected by Alzheimer's disease."
An estimated 982,000 people are living with dementia in the UK, according to an Alzheimer's Society report .
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