The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has posted 12 warning letters and five online advisory letters issued to foreign and domestic companies that are illegally selling more than 58 products, many that are sold as dietary supplements, which are unapproved new drugs and/or misbranded drugs that claim to prevent, treat or cure Alzheimer's disease and a number of other serious diseases and health conditions, it was reported yesterday.

These products are often sold on websites and social media platforms. They have not been reviewed by the US FDA and are not proven safe and effective to treat the diseases and health conditions they claim to treat. They are therefore likely to be ineffective, unsafe and could prevent a person from seeking an appropriate diagnosis and treatment.

FDA commissioner, Scott Gottlieb, MD, said, 'Alzheimer's is a challenging disease that, unfortunately, has no cure. Any products making unproven drug claims could mislead consumers to believe that such therapies exist and keep them from accessing therapies that are known to help support the symptoms of the disease, or worse as some fraudulent treatments can cause serious or even fatal injuries. Simply put, health fraud scams prey on vulnerable populations, waste money and often delay proper medical care – and we will continue to take action to protect patients and caregivers from misleading, unproven products.'