A drug that can slow down the progression of Alzheimer’s disease has finally been found, scientists have announced.

Researchers at the pharmaceutical company Biogen released the results of a final phase trial in 3,000 people which showed that the drug aducanumab can reduce ‘decline in function’ by 40 percent compared to placebo, over 18 months.

Participants also reported significant improvements in memory and the ability to carry out everyday tasks, such as dressing and eating.

Hopes that aducanumab could be helpful for dementia were dashed in March when the company announced it was stopping trials after seeing no beneficial results.

But after reanalysing the results they realised that those on the higher dose for longer had shown marked improvements.