To Support the Campaign against the recent High Court judgment on access to Alzheimer’s drugs:

The result of the judgment is that people in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease will continue to be denied access to effective treatment on the NHS, because of cost.

The Alzheimer’s Society chief executive Neil Hunt pledged the campaign would continue and said,

’’ The Alzheimer's Society has decided not to appeal the

judicialreview on access to Alzheimer's drugs. We hope

the NICE will also accept the Court's ruling on discrimination and further argument on that issue will be unnecessary.

We still believe that it makes no clinical, monetary or moral sense to deny people in the early stages of Alzheimer's access to drugs but we have no plans to pursue our legal arguments on these issues further in the courts.

Instead, we look to the government, in its review of NICE, to eradicate the glaring flaws in NICE's process that have lead to this unacceptable position.

Caring for a person with dementia is an exhausting and

difficult job, and unpaid carers save the UK £6 billion every year.

It is only right that the impact treatment can have on a carer’s quality of life as well as that of the person with dementia is properly calculated.

In March 2005, NICE recommended that no one with

Alzheimer’s should be offered drugs on the NHS for a

cost of just £2.50 a day.

Thanks to the passionate efforts of our dedicated campaigners thousands more people now have access

to treatment.

The Alzheimer’s Society is committed to defeating dementia, a devastating condition that robs people of their lives.

We will continue to campaign on this issue.’’

For more information, look on the Alzheimers society website at http://www.alzheimers.org.uk/News_and_campaigns

An e-petition has also been started by Mark Carter, where people can sign to go to the 10 Downing Street website stating:

‘We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister, to Not deny people in the early and late stages of Alzheimer’s disease access to drug treatments.

Over 100,000 people will develop dementia this year; yet NICE has completely ignored the devastating effect that this decision will have, not just on these people but their carers too.

I would ask that this flawed decision be urgently reviewed.’

The deadline to send your email is 10th January 2008

Please take 2 minutes to sign up and register your protest.

Click here: http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/alzheimerdrugs