'That is no country for old men....Caught in that sensual music all neglect Monuments of unageing intellect.' W.B.Yeats 'Sailing To Byzantium.' 1926
Thursday, 7 October 2010
Britain is a country with some good news for old men in the early stages of Alzheimer's Disease
The 'Daily Mail' newspaper announced some good news for old men today :
Hundreds of thousands of people in the early stages of Alzheimer’s will no longer be denied crucial drugs that slow the devastating disease.
The paper reported that :
* its 3 year campaign ended in victory yesterday when the National Health Service 'drug rationing body' reversed a ban which had been condemned by doctors, patients and their families.
* before yesterday patients diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, who knew they were losing their mind, faced the situation of waiting for their condition to deteriorate before being prescribed the three drugs which cost only £2.50 a day.
* around 465,000 people live with Alzheimer’s in the UK and 62,000 people are diagnosed each year, yet fewer than 50,000 patients are currently prescribed drugs.
* although the drugs are not a cure, up to half of patients respond with ‘life-changing’ improvements with their symptoms lessened and the progression slowed.
No comments:
Post a Comment