Alzheimer's is a devastating disease for which there is no cure. But drugs can help to delay the onset of the memory loss and personality changes which come with the condition. These drugs have lifted treatment out of the dark ages, transforming the possibilities for doctors to offer patients and carers relief against a bleak future. Now, as we report today, the government's licensing body, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice), has concluded, following a 10-month investigation, that they should be prescribed on the NHS for people in the earlier stages of the disease.

The cost of making these drugs available is around £60m a year, a fraction of what is spent on breast cancer treatment, and the same amount the government is spending on advising dinner ladies about healthy meals.

Families, doctors and charities fought a strong campaign to get this welcome result; now the focus must shift to the pressing question of why families get so little support in the way of social care. Good nursing homes are in short supply; carers, often elderly husbands or wives, are not given the breaks they need from the task of looking after loved ones who need constant attention.

There is more to looking after an Alzheimer's patient than medication and we need to develop a rounded and humane approach to care.