A BLOOD-pressure drug could become the first treatment for vascular dementia if a clinical trial beginning at Queen's university Belfast is a success. The £2.25 million clinical trial will see 600 people with the condition given the 4p-a-day drug to explore its effect. There are 18,000 people in Northern Ireland with vascular dementia and the Alzheimer's society and the British Heart Foundation believe the trial could lead to amlodipine being used to treat the condition within a decade. Professor Peter Passmore from Queen's school of Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical sciences is leading a team of researchers who hope to show that 10mg a day of the drug can significantly improve memory and cognitive health. For information on how to get involved in the trial, visit www.alzheimers.org. uk/vasculartrial or bhf.org.uk/dementia.