Alzheimer’s Disease: Diagnosis and Access to Experimental Drugs

Baroness Pidgeon Excerpts

Wednesday 3rd June 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Blake of Leeds (Lab)]

I thank the noble Baroness. I will just reflect on exactly what she has said as it is so important. We know that even without a definite diagnosis, so many preventive interventions could be made. If the early signs are there, they should be flagged up, and individuals can then take their own preventive measures and particularly, I hope, be supported by their friends and family to delay the onset, but also to make sure if signs start to get worse, they can be rapidly progressed along the system.

[Baroness Pidgeon (LD)]

My Lords, new research shows that finger-prick blood tests, alongside online brain tests, could revolutionise dementia diagnosis and offer a low-cost, scalable way to identify people who may be at higher risk of Alzheimer’s disease. What are the Government doing to support research in this area to enable the rollout of this innovative test?

[Baroness Blake of Leeds (Lab)]

The noble Baroness has touched on a really important issue. There is an enormous amount of research going into this area, for very obvious reasons. This is one area that would make so much sense, and I am sure it has been picked up. What is important about the modern service framework is that all these measures are picked up and looked at. The speed with which we can fast-track research now is a fundamental factor in supporting the outcomes we are looking for.