Queen’s researchers trialling new drug seek vascular dementia participants

People across the UK with vascular dementia are being asked to take part in a Queen’s University Belfast clinical trial into a possible new treatment of the disease.

Researchers from the School of Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences at Queen’s aim to recruit nearly 600 people with vascular dementia which affects over 150,000 nationwide and 18,000 people in Northern Ireland.

Vascular dementia can be triggered by a stroke and is caused by problems with the blood supply to the brain. Those with high blood pressure, heart conditions, high cholesterol and diabetes are especially at risk.

Although there are currently no available treatments, the trial hopes to show that 10mg-a-day of the drug called Amlodipine can significantly improve memory and cognitive health.

As Amlodipine is already licensed and known to be safe, the treatment – which costs the NHS just £1.07 a month – could be in use within five to ten years.

Professor Peter Passmore from Queen’s University said: “The trial will be crucial in establishing whether Amlodipine improves patients’ symptoms and quality of life, by delaying progression of the disease,” he said.

“Amlodipine is already used to treat other conditions, like high blood pressure, so could quickly become available for subcortical ischaemic vascular dementia if proven to be effective and safe.

“We are calling on local people living with vascular dementia to take part and help find the first ever treatment for the disease.”

The British Heart Foundation (BHF) Northern Ireland and the Alzheimer’s Society are together funding over £2.25m for the Queen’s University researchers to carry out the clinical trial.

For details of how to take part in the trial, visit: https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/vasculartrial