Drug development
Common reflux drugs may raise dementia risk if taken for several years, new research suggests. Scientists found that long-term use of proton pump inhibitors, or PPIs, was linked to a 33 per cent increased risk of dementia. However, experts said the study does not prove the drugs directly cause the condition, only that a link [...]
Gene therapy may help protect the brain from damage and cognitive decline linked to Alzheimer's disease and ALS, an early study suggests. The approach targets TDP-43, a harmful protein that plays a major role in frontotemporal dementia, a form of dementia that can affect behaviour and language, and is also found in many people with [...]
Novo Nordisk is set to launch oral Ozempic in the US for adults with type 2 diabetes, with the pill due to be distributed through more than 70,000 pharmacies. The drug, approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), offers adults with type 2 diabetes an option to manage blood sugar and cardiovascular risk alongside [...]
UK Alzheimer’s patients are missing out on experimental treatments because diagnoses come too late or are not accurate enough, a charity has warned. Alzheimer’s drug trials reached a record high this year, according to data published on Tuesday, but too few UK patients are taking part because diagnoses are delayed or not specific enough. The [...]
A nasal spray can slow brain ageing, cut brain inflammation and restore memory in two doses, with effects lasting months, according to a new study. Researchers from Texas A&M University in the US said the spray could reshape future therapies for conditions such as Alzheimer's disease, and may even change what is known about brain [...]
Alzheimer’s drug pioneer Anavex is pressing ahead with plans to secure approval for its ground-breaking treatment despite a recent setback. Earlier this year it lodged an appeal against the European Medicines Agency (EMA) decision to reject its application for drug approval in December 2025. But, Anavex has now withdrawn this appeal as it seeks to [...]
So-called 'gamechanger' Alzheimer’s drugs made little noticeable difference for patients in trials, according to a review of anti-amyloid drugs. The analysis looked at trials involving people with mild cognitive impairment or mild dementia. It found the effects of anti-amyloid drugs on cognition and dementia severity over 18 months were “trivial”, while gains in functional ability [...]
A pancreatic cancer drug could double survival rates and cut the risk of death by more than a third, a trial suggests. Pancreatic cancer survival rates are among the lowest of all cancers, with only about 10 per cent of patients in Britain living longer than a year after diagnosis. Researchers at Northwestern University in [...]
An Alzheimer's pill was linked to slower brain shrinkage and improved cognition over nearly three years in early disease, a new analysis suggests. The benefits seen in people with early Alzheimer's disease after a year of treatment with blarcamesine were sustained over nearly three years, according to new analysis from Anavex Life Sciences. Patients treated [...]
Osteoporosis drugs may lower dementia risk, with a study suggesting one widely used treatment could help prevent Alzheimer’s and related dementias. The research found that nitrogen-containing bisphosphonates, drugs widely used to treat osteoporosis, may significantly reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias in older adults with osteoporosis or fragility fractures. Osteoporosis and dementia [...]
