Viagra can be good for your brain

Content of the article

For a quarter of a century, Viagra (sildenafil) and its younger cousins, Cialis (tadalafil), have been improving the sexual health of men around the world. These drugs have become the gold standard for the treatment of erectile dysfunction. They work by inhibiting the level of a compound called PDE5, thereby increasing blood flow to the penis. Now it seems they may have other positive health effects.

Content of the article

A statistical study published in 2021 found that “sildenafil use was significantly associated with a reduced risk of Alzheimer's disease in a longitudinal patient database of 7.23 million subjects.” The work, led by Jiangsong Fang of the Cleveland Clinic's Genomics Medicine Institute, highlights an emerging and highly promising approach called pharmacoepidemiologic analysis. Basically, they took millions of patient records obtained from insurance companies and looked for drugs taken for other reasons that might be associated with a reduced risk of Alzheimer's disease.

Content of the article

These researchers did not throw quantitative darts at epidemiological data. They also looked at genetic factors and the mechanism of action of various drugs. Because sildenafil improves blood flow to the penis, more blood can flow to the brain tissue. The drug also increases levels of a compound called cGMP, which may be beneficial to brain cells.

The proposed Viagra-Alzheimer's link got another big boost with a recent study from University College London (UCL). Writing in the February 27, 2024 issue of the journal Neurology, researcher Matthew Adesuyan and his colleagues reported that British men taking sildenafil and similar drugs were 18 percent less likely to develop Alzheimer's later in life. The effect was even more pronounced in men who used the drug more often. The researchers found that men with 21 to 50 prescriptions during the study period had a 44 percent lower risk.

Content of the article

Content of the article

The researchers say these studies do not prove cause and effect. Older men, who are probably healthier and less likely to develop Alzheimer's disease, are more likely to use PDE5 inhibitor drugs. The UCL researchers adjusted their results for factors such as age, body mass index, underlying health conditions and smoking.

One reason for the enthusiasm for this work is that it involves a drug that is approved for other uses and has a long safety record. Viagra was originally developed to treat high blood pressure and a heart condition called angina. In one remarkable case of medical serendipity, researchers discovered the drug's ability to enhance erections, and the rest is history.

The drug brought pharmaceutical company Pfizer $400 million in revenue in its first three months on the market, and has solidly generated sales of nearly $2 billion a year. Pfizer's patents on the drug expired in 2020, and now we see generic Viagra being sold through TV commercials and online. It still requires a prescription in Canada, the US and many other countries.

Content of the article

One side effect of the success of these drugs is the popularization of telehealth. Few men want to talk face-to-face with their doctor about erectile dysfunction. However, it seems much less invasive if the entire transaction can be done online, perhaps through a short video interview.

Of course, to get the real thing safely, you should work with a reputable company with licensed medical personnel.

Some interesting side effects have been reported by men taking sildenafil. These include vision disorders such as cyanopsia, where everything appears to have a blue tint. This is because the drug also inhibits PDE6, which is involved in color vision. A few very rare cases of complete vision loss have been reported, but most experts agree that you won't go blind from taking it.

“Sildenafil Accelerates Re-Entrainment of Circadian Rhythms After Advancing Light Schedules” as the 2007 winner by my friends at Nobel Prize for Most Stupid Published Research. In this article, the drug reduces the effects of jet lag in hamsters by 25-50 percent, but only when traveling in an easterly direction. While this study doesn't really set fire to human jet lag, it does show the ingenuity of some scientists.

Content of the article

PDE5 inhibitors may have many purposes other than erectile dysfunction. Some believe that this class of medication may be beneficial for men with benign prostatic hyperplasia who have difficulty urinating. Other drugs, such as Flomax, treat this condition, but perhaps there is an advantage to getting two benefits from one drug.

It reminds me of the old man asking the doctor for a quarter of a Viagra pill. It won't give you a full erection, he was told. No, she replied, I just want to stop peeing on my shoes.

Tom Keenan is an award-winning journalist, speaker, professor in the School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape at the University of Calgary, and author of the best-selling book Technocrep: The Surrender of Privacy and the Capitalization of Intimacy.

Content of the article