Dr. Noa Bergman explains what causes Alzheimer's, is there a way to prevent the disease, and how do you treat someone who has already had the disease?
Viagra is best known for helping erectile dysfunction, but a new study published in Neurology suggests it may also lower the risk of Alzheimer's disease, reports CNN.
The study analyzed the health records of almost 270,000 men in the UK.
who were diagnosed with erectile dysfunction from 2000 to 2017. The researchers compared the rates of Alzheimer's disease among men who were prescribed drugs to treat erectile dysfunction (mainly sildenafil, the generic name for Viagra) with those among men who did not receive a prescription.
Men who received a prescription for Viagra had an 18% lower risk of developing Alzheimer's than those who did not.
The decline was greater among men who received 20 or more prescriptions during the study's five years of follow-up.
Illustration Viagra/ShutterStock
"We didn't have strong expectations and thought that there was certainly no direct evidence between these drugs and the reduction of Alzheimer's risk. But we definitely found a protective effect," says Ruth Brewer, a lecturer at the London College School of Pharmacy and editor of the article.
"We feel these are excellent candidates for repurposing [Alzheimer's] drugs."
The study is not the first to investigate the relationship between drugs for erectile dysfunction and Alzheimer's risk.
Two previous studies, both conducted in the US, came to conflicting conclusions: one found a 69% lower risk of Alzheimer's among drug users, while the other found no link. Brewer notes, however, that one of those studies relied on insurance data, while her study included more detailed information from anonymized health records from Britain's National Health Service. This allowed her team to discern potential confounding factors that could affect erectile dysfunction or Alzheimer's risk, such as smoking, alcohol use, and other health conditions. Even after controlling for those factors, the relationship between The medication for a lower risk of Alzheimer's remains.
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Alzheimer's is one of the most difficult health problems today, mainly due to the aging of the global population, and some studies speculate that it has become the third most common cause of death.
Erectile dysfunction treatments like Viagra work by relaxing blood vessels and increasing blood flow.
This effect may reach the brain, where improved blood flow may help clear the buildup of toxic proteins closely related to Alzheimer's disease.
Based on animal studies, the drugs also indirectly increase levels of a brain chemical called acetylcholine, which is involved in memory, learning and attention.
Alzheimer's/ShutterStock
Although the data do not establish a causal link between erectile dysfunction drugs and a lower risk of Alzheimer's, Brewer points to additional evidence that strengthens the link.
When she broke down the data by age, the drugs had a stronger protective effect among men 70 and older compared to men under 70. "The drugs seem to have a greater benefit in people at the highest risk of Alzheimer's," she says.
"We believe that these promising results should justify taking these drugs forward as candidates for reuse."
One limitation of the study is that the scientists only had data on the number of prescriptions the men received, and could not verify whether they filled the prescriptions or used the medications properly.
Nor could they account for how much physical or sexual activity the men did;
It is possible, for example, that men with erectile dysfunction are more sexually and physically active than other men.
Brewer hopes that other researchers will further explore the potential of erectile dysfunction drugs by conducting trials to treat these problems by including men without erectile dysfunction, along with women.
If the link remains strong, these drugs may provide another way for people to protect themselves from the neurodegenerative disorder.
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