'Vital' drug makes the difference (From Warrington Guardian)

'Vital' drug makes the difference

ALZHEMIERS sufferers could soon have to cope without 'vital' drugs which help combat the disease in a Government shake up of care.

A review by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) proposed earlier this year that drugs such as Aricept, used to keep symptoms of the brain disease at bay, should be withdrawn as they are not good value for money.

A final decision is expected to be made in December after the institute has heard more research from the pharmaceutical companies.

But carers in Warrington say that if the withdrawal goes ahead, it will have a devastating effect on sufferers.

The disease is a form of dementia and patients find their ability to remember, speak, think and make decisions is affected.

It has been estimated by campaigners that it costs approximately £2.50 per patient per day to supply the drugs.

The Alzhiemers Society is urging NICE to rethink its decision saying: "We are astonished that NICE had not changed its mind and has rejected the concerns of thousands of people with dementia, carers and health professionals."

This view is echoed by those with experience of the disease in Warrington who say, that family life would be very different without the drugs.

If the decision goes ahead, those already receiving the treatment will not have the medication withdrawn, but other families may not have the option of treatment described as ' life changing' by some carers.

The Warrington Guardian spoke to a Padgate man, who cares for his wife of more than 30 years.

She has been affected by the disease for the past two-and-a-half years even though she is only in her 50s.

The 55-year-old said: "She doesn't remember what she has been doing, we will go out and when we get home, she will forget that we have been anywhere.

"Our son has moved into his own house but she doesn't remember that he no longer lives with us. It is like something is on the edge of her mind, in the same way that something is on the tip of your tongue."

He said he believes the drug is slowing her condition and described the proposals by NICE as 'penny pinching.' He added it was only thanks to the drugs and the care programme she attends, that he is still able to go to work.

A Woolston woman whose 88-year-old mother also takes Aricept, says the drug has made a big difference for her.

Her mum can still recognise her and her brother and her grandchildren but cannot place her great grandchildren.

She said: "My mum was put on the drug about seven or eight years ago and I think it slows the disease down. If it was withdrawn I think she would go down hill pretty quickly.

"She is in a home in Latchford but she doesn't know where she is, she keeps thinking she is there for the day. Things would be far more progressed if she wasn't on the drug in my opinion.

"It has a life changing effect for people with Alzheimer's, my mum is 88 now and is getting frail, but for young people and for people that care for them, it would be terrible if the decision to withdraw the drugs went ahead."

Andrew Dillon, NICE chief executive said: "We are acutely aware of our responsibility to people with Alzheimer's disease, their family and carers to ensure every effort is made to obtain all the available evidence on the drugs. We need to make the right decision, based on all the relevant evidence."