Scientists are currently testing a vaccine that could safeguard future generations from Alzheimer's.
If successful, this shot, which aims to prevent the formation of harmful brain proteins responsible for the damage that leads to the most common form of dementia, could be widely accessible within the next five years.
The team leading the research describe their work as a potentially major advancement in the fight against this devastating disease.
In the UK, about 540,000 people are currently known to have Alzheimer's, and this number is expected to almost double by 2040.
The most common symptoms include a gradual decline in memory, cognitive function, and motor skills, eventually leading to death.
A former police officer diagnosed with the disease last year who participated in the recent trials stated that his life has been completely changed after receiving three doses of the vaccine, according to the Daily Express reports.
Ruthie Henshall, a 57-year-old actor and singer whose mother also had the disease, told the newspaper: 'A drug would be a miracle because there are enormous numbers of people with dementia, and it’s on the rise due to longer lifespans.
'This drug could be the hope people have been dreaming of– up there with finding the cure for cancer.'
The new treatment is being researched with support from the government’s National Institute for Health and Care, at five different centers across the country and two others in Europe and the US.
The findings from this latest research will be presented at a conference in Philadelphia later this July, and will display brain scans demonstrating the vaccine's effects on the brain.
The trials currently have 140 participants, all showing early signs of dementia, with one group aged 50 to 85 and another aged 35 to 50.
It currently seems that if successful, the vaccine will only be useful as a preventative measure, to be used before outward symptoms of the disease appear.
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