Why You Shouldn’t Start Taking Viagra Even Though Research Links It to a Lower Risk of Alzheimer’s Disease

What the Research Says

Research published in Neurology assumes that phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitorsa group of erectile dysfunction drugs, including Viagra, may be associated with a lower risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.

The finding came after five years of following a group of 269,725 men who had recently been diagnosed with erectile dysfunction. 55% received a prescription for these medications, while 45% did not. After comparing the data and adjusting for factors that may affect the results. —such as age, smoking or alcohol— found that those who received a prescription for these medications were 18% less likely to develop this type of dementia at the end of the study.

A few years earlier, in 2021, another similar investigation came out, this time published in Natural aging, noted something similar. In this case the database was checked using more than seven million patients. A study found that sildenafil is associated with reduction by 69% in the incidence of Alzheimer’s disease.

Correlation does not imply causation

All of the above sounds very promising, but there are some factors to consider. “This This is an epidemiological study. Therefore, it is not specifically designed to address cause and effect. There has been an association between improved cognitive function and Viagra use. For now we can say. The question now is to demonstrate whether taking Viagra modifies or in any way affects the disease. It needs to be proven. This needs to be seen in a specific clinical study,” explains to EL ESPAÑOL Guillermo García Ribas, member of the Behavior and Dementia Group of the Spanish Society of Neurology (SEN).

“It may be that people who took this type of stimulant were also healthier or more active,” says García Ribas. The doctor also warns that the study was conducted on men, and Alzheimer’s disease less common in men than women“therefore there may be a gender bias.”

His words coincide with what other experts in the field have said, such as Ivan Koychev, chief clinical investigator of the UK Dementia Platform at the University of Oxford.

“The study is limited by the problem of establishing cause-and-effect relationships in epidemiological studies. Additionally, these types of medications are usually taken as needed, so it’s difficult to know how much was actually taken and how often. “Additionally, the link to Alzheimer’s disease in particular is controversial, as it is known that a significant proportion of dementia cases are clinically diagnosed as having additional or alternative Alzheimer’s pathology present,” he says in a statement to Scientific media center.

Mechanism of action

So, if a pill could help prevent Alzheimer’s disease, what would be the mechanism of action? “The effect is not that a person’s sexual activity improves,” explains the doctor. The key may lie in the original origin for which Viagra was born: changing and modulating the ability of blood flow due to Nitric oxide.

Nitric oxide acts in the body in different ways. In the case of arteries such as vasodilator. In their presence, they relax and allow more blood flow. Hence Viagra’s ability to achieve an erection. “This drug prevents the decomposition of nitric oxide“, Garcia Rivas explains for the more profane.

In this regard, Francesco Tamagnini, a neurophysiologist at the Faculty of Pharmacy at the University of Reading, notes: QMS Nitric oxide has also been shown to play a role in memory maintenance, so that might be the explanation. Although, let’s return to the previous point, since this is an epidemiological study and not a clinical study, nothing can be said.

Prevent Alzheimer’s, Science Says

What does have scientific support are a number of habits that have been shown to be key to the development of any type of dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease. They were created in 2020 by a Lancet panel on the prevention, intervention and treatment of this disease. In total they found 12 factors modifiable risk factors that can be “avoided or delayed” 40% of cases.

These are: hypertension, smoking, depression, lack of physical activity, social isolation, blows to the head, hearing problems, obesity, excessive alcohol consumption, diabetes, long-term exposure to air pollution and lack of education.