So where's the cure?

If you've read the papers in the past couple of years you'd be forgiven for thinking that a cure for Alzheimer's disease had been discovered. Unfortunately for the 700,000 sufferers in the UK, it hasn't. The degenerative brain disease affects one in 20 of those over 65 and nearly a quarter of those over 85, and, despite recent scientific breakthroughs here and in America, a cure is still some way off.

The disease gradually causes a loss of memory and intellectual function, and leads to the sufferer becoming increasingly confused, incapable of conversation and unaware of their surroundings. This slow degeneration, which can happen in as little as five years or over 25 years, is most poignant and painful for those who are left doing the caring, as the person with Alzheimer's reaches a point in their dementia when they are no longer aware of what is going on - a stage graphically portrayed in the film Iris, about the life of Iris Murdoch, who suffered from Alzheimer's.

In the past year three new drugs - Aricept, Exelon and Reminyl - have been approved, which tackle some of the disease's symptoms.

When brain cells die, the chemical messengers between the cells become disrupted. The new drugs, which work on a brain chemical called cholinesterase, stimulate these connections between the cells, creating a temporary boosting effect. When the drugs are taken at an early stage, they reduce memory loss, aid concentration and make the patient more alert - but for some reason, they don't work for everyone. "When they do work, the drugs have a significant impact on the lives of both the patient and their carers," says Harry Cayton, chief executive of the Alzheimer's Society. "They make people feel more positive and better able to cope. For the 40 per cent of people the drugs can help, the progression of Alzheimer's can be staved off for up to a year."

Although this may seem a small step forward for people with the disease, before these drugs were available there was no treatment at all. Cayton is anxious that people do not miss the boat when it comes to taking the medication. "People often delay seeking professional help when they are noticing memory problems. There's a stigma about Alzheimer's and, understandably-people are scared." But because the drugs work best on patients in the earliest stages of the disease, it is important that people take memory problems seriously.

A vaccine for Alzheimer's offers some hope. There is research going on now in the US and here into a possible vaccine which has already been found to work in mice - although it doesn't look as if it will be an easy ride. The researchers' most extraordinary discovery was that brain-cell death could be reversed by creating an immune response in the body of the mice, but, just this week, the international trial on humans has been temporarily suspended since four people out of 360 have become ill with an inflammation of the central nervous system.

Other developments are in genetics, which offers hope for further understanding of how the disease progresses and why it only affects some people. The gene responsible for Alzheimer's was identified by a research team at London's St Mary's hospital 11 years ago, and work is ongoing. This could lead researchers to discover who is at a higher risk of getting the disease, which might allow people to make lifestyle changes to counter this. The Government spends £6 million a year on research for Alzheimer's, an increase of just £250,000 in the past five years. Charities raise a further £2 million, which compares badly to cancer organisations, which raise £120 million a year. Cayton feels strongly that more money for funding research into Alzheimer's is badly needed. "The research has come so far. It's scarcely credible that we would have been talking like this 10 years ago."

If you would like to make a donation to Alzheimer's research, call 0845 306 0898.
The Alzheimer's Society helpline is 0845 300 0336.