Antibiotics, antivirals and vaccines could be used to tackle dementia, according to experts, who say repurposing drugs approved for other conditions could dramatically speed up the hunt for a cure.
The number of people living with the disease globally is forecast to almost triple to 153 million by 2050, presenting a major threat to health and social care systems.
New drugs are coming down the pipeline, but slowly, and experts say more must be done to see whether existing medicines could help prevent or treat dementia.
Dr Ben Underwood, from the University of Cambridge, said: “We urgently need new treatments to slow the progress of dementia, if not to prevent it. If we can find drugs that are already licensed for other conditions, then we can get them into trials and – crucially – may be able to make them available…