DRUGS manufactured by a Basingstoke-based pharmaceutical company are to be prescribed to North Hampshire patients suffering from Alzheimer's.

From April 1, the North Hampshire Primary Care Trust will make funds available for drugs to treat the age-related disease that causes sufferers to lose their memory and experience changes in mood and behaviour, affecting their ability to carry out daily tasks such as driving, handling money or using the telephone.

Shire Pharmaceuticals, based in Hampshire International Business Park, said the announcement was "good news for Basingstoke Alzheimer's sufferers and their families".

Jessica Mann, global head of communications, said: "We are particularly pleased that those in our own local community with Alzheimer's will now have greater access to treatment for the disease."

The move by the North Hampshire PCT follows recommendations by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence that drugs should be made available to those who need them and that there should be Government commitment to ensure that patients receive the treatment "if deemed appropriate by their clinician".

The Basingstoke and District branch of the Alzheimer's Society has campaigned for greater access to the drugs and chairman Dinah Kennedy said: "News of more funds being made available is a great relief to us and all those we support in the Basingstoke area, both carers and the people with dementia alike."

Andrew Hunter, MP for Basingstoke, said he was "delighted" that Basingstoke Alzheimer's sufferers would now have access to these treatments, but added: "It is a shame that patients have had to wait so long for this decision."

There are an estimated 6,000 people in mid and north Hampshire with dementia, although not all are expected to benefit from the drug treatments.