Researchers have made new findings that says that Viagra could possibly reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease though more research is needed to make this concrete.
Though more studies are needed, Cleveland researchers found that men who were taking the blue pill, had a lower risk of Alzheimer’s, following analysis of a database of over 7.2 million patients spanning six years, reported BBC News Monday.
The drug used mostly to treat erectile dysfunction is known as sildenafil. Though it was initially developed as a heart drug has the ability to relax blood vessels and subsequently improve blood flow in other parts of the body led to its use for ED as well as pulmonary hypertension which affects the lungs, according to the outlet.
The researchers also found in lab studies that those who took higher than usual doses of the pill displayed an increase in brain cell growth and reduced protein accumulation, according to the outlet.
Research leader Dr. Feixiong Cheng reportedly told the Nature Aging journal, “because our findings only establish an association between sildenafil use and reduced incidence of Alzheimer’s disease, we are now planning a mechanistic trial and a phase II randomized clinical trial to test causality and confirm sildenafil’s clinical benefits for Alzheimer’s patients.”
However, University of Edinburgh Professor Tara Spires-Jones, an expert on brain research, advises people “not rush out to start taking sildenafil as a prevention for Alzheimer’s disease,” until the research is completed and a conclusion is made.
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