Breakthrough drugs herald ‘new era’ in battle against dementia, experts predict

An estimated 50m people live with dementia globally, more than two-thirds of them in poorer countries, but diagnosis and monitoring currently need costly scans.

Pills that prevent Alzheimer’s disease or blunt its effects are on the horizon, as the fight against dementia enters a “new era”, experts have said.

Scientific advances were on the cusp of producing medicines that could be used even in the most remote and under-resourced parts of the world, thereby “democratising” care, said Jeff Cummings, professor of brain science and health at the University of Nevada.