HEALTH chiefs are planning to write to every GP in East Lancashire to urge them not to prescribe a new drug to treat Alzheimer's Disease - for the time being.

Donepezil is the first-ever pill to be licensed to treat the devastating effects of the condition.

Campaigners believe the drug, which will cost £1,200 a year to prescribe for a single patient, will enhance the quality of life for hundreds of people with mild to moderate Alzheimer's, although it is not a cure.

But East Lancashire Health Authority is taking a cautious approach by telling family doctors to hold off prescribing Donepezil.

The health authority is taking advice from GPs and hospital consultants in Blackburn and Burnley to decide on the best way to prescribe the drug. John Haworth, chairman of the East Lancashire Prescribing Advisory Committee, said: "We will be contacting GPs to ask them to hold off for a short period of time.

"We are conscious that the right people need to be treated and we don't want to raise the hopes of others."

About 1,500 patients in East Lancashire suffer from mild to moderate Alzheimer's Disease.

Donepezil, also known as Aricept, is the first drug to be licensed in the UK specifically to treat Alzheimer's. It is already widely used in the USA.

The drug may not be as effective for people in the advanced stages of the disease.

Donepezil is taken once a day although side effects include diarrhoea, nausea and vomiting.

An Alzheimer's Disease society spokeswoman said: "Although Donepezil has a limited effect it will substantially enhance a person's quality of life."

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