Alzheimer's disease breakthrough is yet another sign of just how valuable science is to humanity – Scotsman comment

In a trial, the drug Donanemab was found to slow ‘clinical decline’ in Alzheimer’s patients by up to 35 per cent

Alzheimer’s is a particularly cruel disease, with sufferers experiencing memory loss, communication problems, mood changes and other symptoms that gradually rob them of their personality. For relatives, it can be particularly heartbreaking to cope with a loved one who has no memory of them.

So the news that a new drug, Donanemab, is being hailed as a “truly a turning point in the fight against” the disease by the Alzheimer’s Society will offer hope to millions. There will be few who have not been affected in some way by this awful condition.

In a trial, Donanemab was found to slow “clinical decline” by up to 35 per cent, raising the prospect that Alzheimer’s will soon become a treatable disease. A small number of people in the study suffered serious side-effects, with three deaths of those given the drug considered to be “treatment-related”.

However, on top of another drug that showed positive results, it appears scientists really are beginning to crack the problem – in another hopeful sign that humans can overcome almost any problem if they really set their minds to it.