'Hope on horizon' for Alzheimer's patients a reminder of importance of support for science

A cure or effective treatment for Alzheimer’s disease would be a discovery on a par with vaccination or antibiotics

According to a new review, there are some 138 potential treatments for Alzheimer’s disease – the most common cause of dementia – currently being assessed in clinical trials. The news prompted Dr Sheona Scales, of Alzheimer's Research UK, to say there is now “hope on the horizon for people with Alzheimer's”.

Another expert, Dr Emma Mead, of the Oxford Drug Discovery Institute, said scientists had reached “a tipping point in dementia research as we understand more and more about the diseases” that cause it.

Dementia is a most cruel disease (Picture: Joe Giddens) | PA

New drugs usually take a long time to reach the point where they are routinely prescribed and optimistic results in trials don’t always produce an effective treatment. However, the palpable excitement of leading scientists in the field suggests a significant breakthrough may be close.

A cure or effective treatment for dementia, a most cruel disease, would be on a par with the discovery of antibiotics or vaccination. That this is possible is a reminder of just how much science has done and can still do for humanity – providing the public resists the conspiracy theories of arrogant idiots who insist they somehow know better.