// BBC HEALTH NEWS — SALUTE
Diabetes and ADHD drugs to be tested on Alzheimer's patients in new study
A clinical trial has been launched in the UK which scientists hope could cut years from the search for new treatments for Alzheimer's disease.
It will test multiple drugs simultaneously, starting with two repurposed medicines already used to treat type 2 diabetes and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
The study will examine whether the drugs can lessen symptoms such as memory and thinking problems, and help people maintain their quality of life.
Angela Bucksey, 67, from Cambridgeshire, was diagnosed with Alzheimer's in January and is the first person to begin treatment on the trial, called AD-SMART.
"We have Alzheimer's in the family," she told the BBC.
"My mother had it and my aunts, so it was a disappointment rather than a shock when I was diagnosed because I knew it would restrict my life.
"But I was determined that it wasn't going to define me."
Angela said she felt empowered joining the trial because "at least you are doing something".
"Instead of just sitting there, you're standing up and saying, I will fight back."
Alzheimer's is the most common type of dementia, affecting around 600,000 people in the UK.