Viagra could prevent or treat Alzheimer's, study suggests.
Analysis showed that individuals who used the medication had a 69% lower risk of developing the condition.
By Priscila Carvalho, from Agência Einstein - Used to treat erectile dysfunction, the drug sildenafil (better known by the brand name Viagra) may be an ally against Alzheimer's disease, according to a study published in... scientific journal Nature Aging.
To reach this conclusion, researchers from different American universities first identified, using computational methodology, which substances approved by the United States regulatory agency (FDA) could be used as a treatment for Alzheimer's disease. This list included medications that act against the formation of beta-amyloid and tau protein plaques in the brain—possible causes of the disease's development—and Viagra stood out as a potential risk modifier for the condition.
The researchers then analyzed the health data of more than 7,2 million individuals, who were followed for six years. The results showed that people who used the medication had a 69% lower risk of developing Alzheimer's disease.
Even when compared to other medications evaluated, Viagra stood out, according to the authors: the risk of Alzheimer's was 55% lower compared to individuals using losartan (a medication used to treat high blood pressure) and 63% lower compared to those taking metformin (a medication used to treat diabetes). Both medications are currently being studied for their effectiveness against this neurodegenerative disease.
Compared to the other two substances analyzed, diltiazem (also used to treat hypertension) and glimepiride (to treat diabetes), sildenafil maintained its benefits: a 65% lower risk compared to the former and a 64% lower risk compared to the latter.
In a third stage of the study, the researchers developed neuronal (brain cell) cultures from stem cells derived from patients with dementia. Exposing the cells to sildenafil led to increased growth of neurites (point-shaped neural cell filaments), which are responsible for connecting neurons to each other.
The relationship has not yet been proven.
According to Fernando Facio, urologist and head of the Sexuality Department of the Brazilian Society of Urology, even with this discovery, further studies are needed to prove the relationship between the medication and the prevention of the neurodegenerative disease.
"So far, it appears that sildenafil has exerted a neuroprotective effect in patients who have used the medication regularly," the report highlights. "However, the researchers emphasize that this work does not allow for inferences of causality between the use of sildenafil and the prevention or reversal of Alzheimer's disease. For that, new clinical trials with a different methodology would be necessary," the report concludes.
Subscribe to 247, Support via Pix, Subscribe to TV 247, in the channel Cuts 247 and watch: