But members of the Alzheimer's Society in Leamington fear it may be available too late to help people currently suffering from the disease.

Around 80 families in Warwick district receive advice and support from staff and volunteers at the charity's office in Wise Street.

And according to information and support service manager Angela Wright, the development of Rember, which tackles the protein tangles that cause brain cell death, has been welcomed by members.

She said: "Everyone is very excited and feels this could be the breakthrough, but there are concerns that it is not available yet and trials will take between five and ten years.

"People feel there needs to be a lot more money from the government going into research to speed things up."

Initial tests suggest that Rember slows cognitive decline in people with Alzheimer's and could be more than twice as effective as current treatments.

But further human trials have yet to be carried out to confirm the drug's safety.

Leamington resident John Goodfellow's wife Connie died from Alzheimer's just before Christmas aged 72. She was diagnosed with the degenerative disease at 59.

He said: "It's very good news about this drug. I know I would have wanted Connie to have it as soon as possible, but you have to be realistic.

"There are so many stages of tests to go through, it would be irresponsible to rush into something and find there were unexpected side effects.

"Dementia has such an enormous impact on people's lives. It's as if you have lost the person you have lived with and loved for so long.

"It's so important for people to be told there are drugs that can slow it down when they are first diagnosed."

Last year, drug companies and Alzheimer's campaigners lost a high court appeal to get the drug Aricept prescribed to people in the earliest stages of the disease.

A judge upheld the ruling of the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence that it should only be given to patients in the moderate stages of the disease.

But Mrs Wright thinks this contradicts the anecdotal evidence of sufferers and their carers and fears NICE may make a similar ruling about Rember.

She said: "A lot of our members and those working in the field feel it would be more effective if prescribed earlier. "It would give people a better quality of life and be more cost effective as people could stay at home for longer."

* For more information about the Alzheimer's Society call 888899.
www.alzheimers.org.uk/southwarwickshire