Hope Runs High For Development Of Drug To Test For Alzheimer's Disease

It is regarded as one of the holy grails of the world of medicine today but some of the world's leading scientists believe that they could get the go-ahead to begin marketing a drug designed to detect the early onset of Alzheimer's disease by the end of 2011.

Agents being developed by three of the largest drug companies are designed so that, when they are used in conjunction with a PET scanner, they can pinpoint the spots in the brain which show signs of the development of the disease.

According to the Alzheimer's Society, there are about 465,000 sufferers of the condition in the UK. The condition is caused when proteins in the brain become tangled, and this kills off brain cells. Sufferers also have a shortage of chemicals which are used as transmitters of information in the brain. As the disease is progressive, people with Alzheimer's find that their condition gradually deteriorates, with their memory loss or mood swings becoming more acute.

Drugs already available offer some relief from various symptoms of the condition, but as with many medical conditions, an early diagnosis can make a big difference to the effectiveness of these. This is why there is much attention being paid to developing chemicals which can help achieve this.
According to the Alzheimer's Society, there have been several developments in complementary and alternative therapies which have shown signs of being able to help ease some of the more severe symptoms which the disease presents.

But as there is always the risk that medicines can produce an adverse reaction when taken together, regular advice is for a patient to always tell their doctor what other medicines they are taking whenever a new one is prescribed.

Being able to test for a disease with such potentially debilitating effects as Alzheimer's will be a development welcomed by many people, who have watched as their usually elderly relatives have been progressively affected by the condition.

Scientists involved in the development of agents and medicines to treat and trace Alzheimer's believe that signs of the disease start to show up to a decade before it is diagnosed. They are therefore sure that detecting the changes in the brain which are thought to signal the onset of the disease as early as possible gives them the best chance of offering medicinal treatments which could delay the onset of the disease, or even prevent it altogether. As many treatments are only currently offered once the disease is too far advanced, it is clear why development of a reliable test of Alzheimer's is occupying so many medical experts' efforts.