Men on Viagra may reduce their Alzheimer’s risk – study
According to a recent study, men who take drugs for erectile dysfunction, such as Viagra, may reduce their risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. The study suggests that in research on more than 260,000 men, those taking the drugs were 18% less likely to develop the dementia-causing condition. However, more research is needed to prove that the drugs are causing this effect.
Two new Alzheimer’s drugs have shown huge promise at slowing the pace of the disease in its earliest stages. By targeting beta amyloid, which builds up in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s, these drugs have the potential to change the way the disease is treated. Scientists are also continuing to look for existing drugs that could prevent or delay the development of Alzheimer’s.
Drugs like Viagra were originally designed to treat high blood pressure and angina. They work by acting on a cell-signalling messenger that may also be linked to memory. Research in animals suggests that they have some protective effect on the brain.
In a new study in Neurology, researchers from University College London looked at prescription records of thousands of men with erectile dysfunction, comparing those who had been given the drugs with those who hadn’t. Over the following five years, they found 8.1 cases of Alzheimer’s per 10,000 person years in the group prescribed the drugs, and 9.7 cases in the group not taking them. This suggests that regular use of the drug could have a greater impact on the disease.
Lead author Dr Ruth Brauer said, ‘More research is needed to confirm these findings, learn more about the potential benefits and mechanisms of these drugs, and look into the optimal dosage.’ The researchers also want to run a trial in women as well as men, to see if the drug has any impact.
Prof Tara Spires-Jones from the University of Edinburgh and president of the British Neuroscience Association commented, ‘This study does not conclusively prove that erectile dysfunction drugs reduce Alzheimer’s risk but provides good evidence that this type of drug is worth further study in the future.’
