Although the jab is not a cure it has been found to be able to halt the disease and even reverse the damage caused in some cases.
It is regarded as one of the biggest potential breakthroughs in the research for the disease.
The vaccine is now being tested on more than 10,000 patients around the world, including hundreds in the UK. Only two vaccines for the incurable condition have reached the final phase of testing, known as stage three.
The bapineuzumab jab prevents, and in some cases can reverse, the build up of amyloid, the toxic protein which can build up in the brain of dementia sufferers and is thought to be linked to the onset of symptoms such as memory loss and mental impairment.
The development of tests which detect Alzheimer’s early on would allow the vaccine to be administered as early as possible.
The vaccine could slow the progression of the disease in sufferers saving thousands from the most devastating effects which leaves sufferers unable to walk, talk and swallow.
Dr David Wilkinson, from Southampton University’s Memory Assessment and Research Centre, was involved in some of the earliest research into Alzheimer’s vaccines in the 1990s.
He told the Daily Mail: “Hopefully the vaccine will make a big difference to Alzheimer’s treatment. If we can give it early – before major brain impairment is seen – it may have an important part to play.
“If it can clear amyloid plaques from the brain and we can give it very early in the disease process, it may prevent some of the damage.”
Around £17billion is spent on Alzheimer’s treatment in Britain each year.
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