Promising treatments The new Alzheimer's drugs bringing hope to patients in the UK

This week England's health spending watchdog rejected a new Alzheimer's drug - the second such drug it has turned down this year.

- Nicola Davis

Both donanemab and lecanemab were approved by the UK's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), yet the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) said their benefits were too small to justify the cost. There have also been concerns over potential side-effects - such as brain swelling and bleeding.

For some, including Prof Rob Howard of University College London, the decision underscores the need to focus on ensuring people with Alzheimer's have access to diagnoses, therapy, social care and existing drugs that can help with its symptoms. But others are optimistic disease-modifying drugs could yet play a role.

Alzheimer's Research UK says there are about 130 drugs under development, 75% of which aim to delay, slow or reverse the disease. "There are many promising treatments coming through the pipeline," said Tara Spires-Jones, professor of neurodegeneration at the University of Edinburgh.

Here are some of them:

Amyloid beta-targeting drugs

Clumps of a sticky protein known as amyloid beta are a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease, causing disruption in cell communication, inflammation and cell death.