Alzheimer’s drugs currently being denied to some NHS patients may have a dramatic impact on the pathology of the brain, research in the UK indicates.

{mosimage}Neurology says that post-mortem tests on 24 patients found a 70% fall of a protein linked to dementia in those who had taken cholinesterase inhibitors. Campaigners are fighting to get the drugs available on the NHS after they were rejected for use in mild cases.

Experts said the study was interesting but small and inconclusive as a result. Post mortem examinations were done on 12 patients who took part in UK trials of the drugs – donepezil, rivastigmine, tacrine and galantamine.

Professor Clive Ballard, director of research at the Alzheimer’s Society, and colleagues measured the concentrations of two proteins associated with the build up of plaques found in the brains with people with dementia.

Cancer doctors have told the BBC they fear the NHS will not be able to afford the new generation of cancer drugs. Specialists are already arguing that patients may have to pay for more drugs themselves, with the issue becoming pressing as new drugs are developed.

A new method of calculating the number of migrants entering the UK has been challenged by local authority leaders. In a letter to the Treasury seen by the BBC, four leaders say the numbers in their areas have been underestimated, meaning public services will be hit.

The number of Britons prescribed antidepressants is at a record high, despite official warnings that many patients may not need them. More than 31 million prescriptions were written by doctors for antidepressant drugs last year with the use of drugs such as Seroxat and Prozac increasing by 10%.

Mental health services must work more closely with employment and housing agencies and cut waiting lists for talking therapies in England, the mental health tsar says.

Hundreds of elderly people are living in badly run Northern care homes, exposing them to filthy conditions, the risk of infections or lack of dignity. Figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act show that 22 homes have been officially labelled “poor”.

With broken voice and trembling lip, a-quiver with self-righteousness, Tony Blair bade us farewell last Thursday. He ought to have saved a few of his choked-back tears for the thousands of young children who have to look after their sick or disabled parents with little or no help.

Almost 17,000 children face the daily strain of caring for a mentally- ill parent, it was revealed yesterday. With little or no help from the state, many have to administer medicine to their mother or father as well as providing crucial emotional support.

More than half of children in the UK using the internet have had an “unwanted experience”, a poll suggests. The NSPCC found 50.4% of 2,053 children had experienced problems such as bullying, being threatened or sexually harassed while online.

{mosimage}It is concerned about the popularity of social networking sites such as Bebo or MySpace, which it says 52% of children aged 11-16 use once a day. The NSPCC says these could heighten children’s exposure to abusive people. The survey indicated most young people logged onto such websites to make new friends and link up with people they already knew. But it also suggests that almost 60 per cent of children used the websites to help combat loneliness, while 53 per cent used them to share their problems.

The findings were revealed as the charity launches this year’s Don’t Hide It campaign. The campaign aims to encourage children to speak out about all forms of abuse carried out on social networking websites.

Hundreds of thousands of elderly people have had their social care cut in the past decade. Seven in 10 councils in England have been forced to “ration” services since Labour came to power, according to the Local Government Association.

{mosimage}Most town halls now provide services – including meals on wheels, trips to day centres and home visits from social workers – only to pensioners with “substantial” or “critical” needs.

Lack of funding means many councils now help only those who are seriously ill or incapacitated. In some cases, pensioners have had to sell their homes to help pay for private care, or ask their families to pick up the bill.

The revelations follow last week’s admission by Ivan Lewis, the minister responsible for care services, that provision for the elderly is “one of the great challenges facing our society”. He called for “a new settlement that is fair and -sustainable”.