Things may be improving for guys who are concerned about their chance of developing Alzheimer’s disease.
A recent five-year research of around 260,000 older adult men discovered that those taking erectile dysfunction drugs, such as Viagra, were 18% less likely to acquire the neurodegenerative disease that impairs memory, thinking, and behavior.
“Erectile dysfunction drugs, which work by dilating blood vessels to allow more blood to flow through, were first developed to treat high blood pressure,” researchers from University College London, who conducted the study, stated in a press release.
“A new study suggests that the drugs may be tied to a reduced risk of Alzheimer’s disease,” the study’s authors wrote.
The study, published in the journal Neurology, discovered that men who used the most Viagra-like medications had the lowest risk of having the brain condition.
Men who received 21 to 50 prescriptions of sildenafil, the key ingredient in Viagra, were 44% less likely to acquire dementia throughout the course of the study.
The authors stated that more research is needed to determine whether Viagra lowers risk or if men who take Viagra already have a decreased risk.
“We can’t say that the drugs are responsible, but this does give us food for thought on how we move into the future,” the primary author of the study said.
“We now need a proper clinical trial to look at the effects of these drugs on Alzheimer’s in women as well as men,” she said.
Alzheimer’s affects around 6.7 million Americans aged 65 and older, according to the Alzheimer’s Association.
According to the scientists, age, alcohol usage, and smoking can all have an impact on the incidence of Alzheimer’s disease.
Previous research has found that taking Viagra reduces the likelihood of developing the condition.
Researchers at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York discovered last May that Viagra could reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease by up to 60%.
According to scientists, Viagra inhibits an enzyme discovered in the brains of persons with Alzheimer’s.
A study of more than 27,000 persons over the age of 65 discovered that Viagra lowers a brain molecule known as PDE5. In Alzheimer’s patients, PDE5 is “significantly increased” in the region of the brain that controls memory.