The McCusker Alzheimer's Research Foundation in Perth is seeking 400 males aged 60 and above who will participate in a 14-month trial using a combination of testosterone and fish oil believed to prevent or postpone Alzheimer's.

So far, 200 Australian men have expressed interest in being part of the landmark trial, disclosed Professor Ralph Martins from the foundation.

Mr Martin said the trial will investigate the effect of the combined treatment on people who had memory problems, which is a risk of the disease.

He stressed that the treatment would possibly reduce the symptoms of Alzheimer's by 10 to 15 per cent. Mr Martin said the treatment would not be a silver bullet and added that people seeking for a miracle pill to cure the ailment would not find it.

There has been anecdotal evidence that fish oil and testosterone are beneficial in prevention of Alzheimer's, but there has not been a clinical trial that uses the two substances together, said Australian Health Minister Kim Hames.

The government has allocated $500,000 for the trial.

The first known Alzheimer's patient was Augusta Deter, a middle-age female patient at the Frankfurt Asylum who showed unusual symptoms including short-term memory loss. She was diagnosed in 1901 by Alois Alzheimer, who examined Ms Deter's brain when she died and he described the distinctive damage as an indicator of a form of presenile dementia.

Subsequent research said the early onset of the ailment is caused by mutation in a single gene.

For those interested in participating in the trial, the Web site of the foundation is http://www.alzheimers.com.au/

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