RETIRED businessman Tony Thomas hopes his involvement in an Oxford Alzheimer’s drug trial will help others like him.

The 71-year-old has started taking anti-inflammation drug Mincycline in a trial based at the city’s Warneford Hospital.

Mr Thomas, executive vice principal of Kentucky Fried Chicken from 1983 to 1986, said: “There is nothing I can do about my diagnosis, so I’m prepared to listen to others.

“I have received good care and wisdom, and feel I should help other people with similar problems.”

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Mr Thomas, who lives in Chinnor, near Thame, enjoyed a long business career which saw him work in places like New York and Amsterdam and in senior management for firms such as McKinsey and Cornwell Parker PLC.

But after retiring in 2009 he noticed problems with his short-term memory and was diagnosed by his GP in 2011.

Speaking ahead of yesterday’s launch of World Alzheimer’s Month, he said: “When I was working there was always so much going on, you have to make sure your head was working well and you were listening, noting and following up on stuff.

“It was when I started taking life easy, having retired, that it became more noticeable.

“Your private life doesn’t have rigid timelines and things to do on a regular basis.”

Mr Thomas, married to Cyndy for 33 years, said: “Maybe when you’ve met people at a party, two days later you may ask ‘who was throwing it?’ It is small trivial things but they start adding up.”

Mr Thomas, who takes donepezil to ease the impact of the condition, said: “Mentally I feel fine, physically I feel fine, I still read lots of newspapers, literature, things you can absorb.

“There is no reason I couldn’t be alive, well and kicking for quite a number of years.”

Cyndy, 65, said of the trial: “It is great news. He is aware of what he has got. If he can stop other people from getting it then he is very happy to do that.”

She said she has to ‘fill in holes here and there when he doesn’t know who people are’ but added: “It is nothing major.

“We don’t do as much as we used to do. He is generally quite happy sitting at home reading and watching the television.”

Minocycline has treated acne and some bacterial infections since the 1970s and it is now hoped it can tackle brain inflammation in Alzheimer’s sufferers.

The trial, which includes others taking a placebo, is funded by the Department of Health through the National Institute for Health Research Clinical Research Network.

Principal investigator Dr Rohan Vanderputt said: “We already know that Minocycline is relatively safe. This trial will help us find out whether it improves the symptoms of Alzheimer’s Disease and slows the expected rate of deterioration.”

As of March, 3,936 people were diagnosed in Oxfordshire, up from 3,566 the previous year.

For information on trials call 01865 231556 or email dementia.research@nhs.net


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