A group

of leading dementia specialists published a paper this week suggesting that Alzheimer’s disease — the commonest cause of dementia — is not actually one disease but could be up to six different conditions. This is a revolutionary hypothesis but one that makes total sense. I’ve often been baffled at the range of symptoms and progression of the disease in different patients. And it’s always struck me as odd that while certain anti-dementia drugs work well for some, in others they do nothing. The specialists conclude that we need a range of drugs to treat different forms of Alzheimer’s. I believe this is the start of something really important in the battle against this condition.