Patriot Health Digest
Viagra is believed to increase bedroom performance, however a new study has discovered other benefits.
A new study suggests taking Viagra minimizes your risk of Alzheimer’s by nearly 70%.
The scientists say the drug might also boost your brain health and lower the levels of dementia causing proteins.
Researchers studied data from 7.2 million American adults and discovered people that use Viagra regularly had a 69% less chance of developing Alzheimer’s within the next six years, their findings were published in the Nature Aging.
As reported by Medical News Today, “Lab tests on nerve cells from people suffering from Alzheimer’s supported the theory that sildenafil could treat the disease.”
However, the researchers quickly pointed out that clinical trials will be the only way to give definitive evidence that sildenafil is an effective treatment for Alzheimer’s.
The paper in Nature Aging says, “The association between decreased incidence of AD and sildenafil use doesn’t create causality, this will require a controlled trial.”.
“Medics are planning a new study to test the benefits of sildenafil in beginning Alzheimer’s patients,” according to The Sun.
The Sun also says that a group from Cleveland Clinic “studied whether any of the 1,600 drugs that are approved could be used to treat the underlying causes of the disease,” quoting lead researcher Dr. Feixiong Cheng as saying: “Sildenafil, has been shown to greatly improve memory and cognition in preclinical models, presented as the best drug choice.”
Reported by Healthline, the study had major limitations, and that – at the moment – the only drug approved to treat Alzheimer’s is Aducanumab.
Professor Tara Spires-Jones, DPhil, said: “This study looks at data from a large amount of people, but there are a few important limitations to consider.”
“According to Spires-Jones, the data that was studied came from insurance claims. This data isn’t very detailed and didn’t include info on other major risk factors for Alzheimer’s like, risk genes, sex, and socioeconomic status”.
The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare says, it’s estimated that in the year 2020 there were between 400,000 and 459,000 people in Australia with dementia. Alzheimer’s disease accounts for almost 70% of cases.
The Sun states, “This is very exciting stuff, however we need to further our research.”
Author: Steven Sinclaire
