▲ Viagra, a treatment for erectile dysfunction. Yonhap News Research has shown that Viagra, the treatment for erectile dysfunction, helps improve Alzheimer’s disease.
According to national and international media, a research team led by Professor Ruth Brauer from the School of Pharmacy at University College London (UCL) in the United Kingdom recently published a study in the international academic journal “Neurology” showing that Viagra can help prevent Alzheimer’s disease. improving blood flow to the brain. announced in
The analysis is that the effect of erectile dysfunction treatments that improve blood circulation also affects cerebral blood flow.
Alzheimer’s is a degenerative brain disease that causes decline in memory and cognitive function.
It is considered the cause of more than half of all dementia patients. Gradual degenerative changes in the cells of the cerebral cortex cause overall brain atrophy and a significant decrease in the number of nerve cells. Many scientists and pharmaceutical companies are developing treatments, but the cause itself has not been clearly identified. The amyloid protein that accumulates in the brain is considered the main cause.
The research team analyzed the medical records of 269,725 men with an average age of 59 who were diagnosed with erectile dysfunction in the United Kingdom from 2004 to 2017, following and observing them. The average follow-up period is 5 years. Of these, 55% were prescribed erectile dysfunction drugs and 45% were not prescribed erectile dysfunction drugs. The participants had no problems with their memory or thinking skills at the start of the study.
Phosphodiesterase 5 inhibitor (PDE5I), the erectile dysfunction treatment prescribed to study subjects, was originally developed as a treatment for hypertension that improves blood flow by dilating blood vessels. However, it is currently widely used as a treatment for erectile dysfunction. Representative examples include Viagra and Cialis. PDE5I inhibitors relax veins and arteries, allowing blood to flow better. This effect occurs by inhibiting the PDE5I enzyme, which breaks down cGMP, a compound that increases blood flow to the penis.
As a result, it was confirmed that men taking Viagra had an 18% lower risk of developing Alzheimer’s compared to men not taking Viagra. Furthermore, the effect was stronger in men who were heavily prescribed Viagra. Men who were prescribed Viagra between 21 and 50 times had a 44 percent lower risk of developing Alzheimer’s.
However, the research team explained that because they only analyzed Viagra prescriptions, no other variables were taken into account.
Since physically active men seek out Viagra, the likelihood of developing Alzheimer’s may be low in the first place.
In fact, in 2021, a research team from Harvard University in the United States announced findings showing that there is no link between Viagra and Alzheimer’s. “We need adequate clinical trials to examine the effects of these drugs on Alzheimer’s disease in both women and men,” Professor Brouwer said.
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