Scientists discover that Viagra could be secret weapon against Alzheimer's

A new study has suggested that the drugs used to treat erectile dysfunction could be linked with a reduction in the risk of Alzheimer’s disease.

The study was published in an online issue of Neurology and features encouraging signs, although it shows an association between the drugs and a reduced risk of Alzheimer’s and doesn’t prove it.

The extensive research involved 269,725 men who were newly diagnosed with erectile dysfunction. At the beginning of the study none of the men, who had an average age of 59, showed signs of Alzheimer’s or memory issues.

The research followed every participant for around five years. During that time, 55 per cent of them were given erectile dysfunction drugs while the other 45 per cent were not.

Could Viagra be the future of Alzheimer's treatment?iStock

Over the course of the research, 1,119 people developed Alzheimer’s. People taking erectile dysfunction drugs developed the progressive disease at a rate of 8.1 cases per 10,000 person-years.

That was compared to a 9.7 rate among participants who were not taking the prescriptions. When adjusted for other factors, the stats show that people on erectile dysfunction drugs had an 18 per cent reduced risk compared to participants not on them.

Study author Ruth Brauer, PhD, from the University College London said: “Although we’re making progress with the new treatments for Alzheimer’s disease that work to clear amyloid plaques in the brain for people with early stages of the disease, we desperately need treatments that can prevent or delay the development of Alzheimer’s disease. These results are encouraging and warrant further research.”

Brauer added: “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. A randomized, controlled trial with both male and female participants is warranted to determine whether these findings would apply to women as well.”

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