NHS 'simply not ready' for new Alzheimer's treatment

Scientists call for diagnosis improvement

- BY MARTIN BAGOT

THE NHS is not ready for a new class of revolutionary drugs to treat Alzheimer's, experts warn.

A group of 40 researchers said new drugs and blood tests are set to transform how the progressive brain disease is treated.

However, writing in a series of papers published in The Lancet, they warn that better early diagnosis is needed for them to be effective.

Two drugs have emerged as the first shown to tackle Alzheimer's but only if administered at the earliest stages of the disease, before irreversible brain deterioration.

Dr Richard Oakley, of the Alzheimer's Society, said: “The painful truth is the NHS is simply not ready and isn't keeping pace with the science.