Viagra associated with lowering risk of Alzheimer’s, claims study

A recent study conducted in the United States suggests that Viagra is reportedly linked to a useful treatment for Alzheimer's disease, as per The Guardian. Despite the fact that hundreds of millions of individuals worldwide suffer from Alzheimer's disease, the most common form of age-related dementia, there is no effective treatment available at this time. The study was supervised by researchers at the Cleveland Clinic.

The scientists used a huge gene-mapping network and genetic and other data to determine which of more than 1,600 FDA-approved medications used to treat other diseases could be repurposed to fight Alzheimer's and found that the usage of sildenafil, the scientific name for Viagra, was linked to a 69% lower risk of acquiring Alzheimer's disease, according to The Guardian. Dr Feixiong Cheng, the study's principal author stated that Sildenafil, which has been shown to improve cognition and memory in preclinical models, presented as the best choice.

Researchers compared sildenafil users to non-users

The researchers next compared sildenafil users to non-users in a database of claims from over 7 million patients in the United States to investigate the link between sildenafil and Alzheimer's disease outcomes. They then discovered that sildenafil users were 69% less likely than non-users to develop Alzheimer's disease. Researchers created a lab model that showed sildenafil enhanced brain cell proliferation and targeted tau proteins, revealing how it can influence disease-related brain alterations.

Dr Ivan Koychev, a senior clinical researcher at the University of Oxford who was not involved in the study called it a fantastic development as it leads to a specific medicine that may offer a new way to treating the problem. Prof Tara Spires-Jones,  deputy head of the University of Edinburgh's Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences, on the other hand, believes that there were some significant limits to the study, according to the Guardian. She said that while these findings are intriguing from a scientific standpoint, she would not start using sildenafil as an Alzheimer's disease preventative based on this study.

'Additional research needed'

According to The Hill, researchers themselves point out that the data merely demonstrated a relationship between sildenafil and a decreased incidence of Alzheimer's disease rather than a causal link, and that additional research is needed to determine whether Viagra can lessen the risk of Alzheimer's.