A team of scientists are aiming to conduct a test with a Viagra-style drug in order to determine if the drug has the ability to fight dementia

The first clinical test of this type in the world, which is a part of the global effort, will determine if the drug could help to prevent a common form of dementia by increasing the flow of blood in the brain.

The team led by Dr Atticus Hainsworth at St George's, University of London will recruiting 50 people aged over 65 in the UK, who showed evidence of blood vessel damage following a stroke or who are experiencing mild memory loss. The Alzheimer's Society is funding the initiative with the Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation (ADDF) in New York.

The researchers will use Viagra-style drug, Tadalafil that works by dilating blood vesselsin order to help stop the onset of vascular dementia, which is one of the most common form of dementia and results in 110,000 cases in the UK.

Dr Hainsworth said, "My colleagues and I are very enthusiastic about this transatlantic initiative, as there are too few drugs in the medicine cupboard for dementia. We want to know whether a well-known, well-tolerated drug can be used to combat dementia, which has been called the 21st century plague. The drug Tadalafil is widely used to increase blood flow in penile tissue. Now we're asking whether it can do the same for another vital organ - the brain."