We'll have a cure for Alzheimer's within 10 years and advanced cases will be very rare

Younger sufferers are targeted | Plea for new medical speciality

- VIVIENNE AITKEN and JOAN McFADDEN

A SCOTS dementia expert predicts there will be a cure for Alzheimer's in 10 years.

Professor Craig Ritchie also believes things will move so quickly that advanced cases of dementia in the future could almost be eradicated.

He said: "I don't just expect a cure for Alzheimer's disease in 10 years, I also expect that, with early detection, managing risk factors and powerful new treatments, Alzheimer's disease - dementia - will be very rare." advanced

The news will bring hope to thousands but in order for that to happen, people will need to be diagnosed much quicker.

About 90,000 people in Scotland have dementia, 65 per cent of those in care homes live with it and it's among the leading causes of death in the country.

By 2031, it's estimated it will cost the country £2.6billion£2.9billion every year.

Ritchie said: "We need a completely fresh start to Alzheimer's detection and treatment.

"We must be realistic. The new treatments being developed aren't for people with moderate or advanced Alzheimer's but for a much younger generation, who need to be brain disease aware much earlier.

"The most recent research reveals Alzheimer's can start decades before symptoms appear, so we need to approach our research and clinical trials from a much younger perspective."