Anyone who has witnessed Alzheimer’s slowly take away a loved one knows how devastating this neurodegenerative disease can be. Scientists are constantly studying this disease to not just find treatments, but also more ways of preventing it in the first place. Recently, they have discovered that there is a surprising drug that may lower the risk of Alzheimer’s: Viagra.
Viagra May Reduce The Risk of Alzheimer’s Disease
On December 6, 2021, researchers published findings that show an association between drastically reduced risk for developing Alzheimer’s and the use of the drug sildenafil. This medication is most commonly known as the brand name Viagra, the drug used primarily to treat erectile dysfunction. In fact, according to their findings, taking sildenafil is associated with a nearly 70% reduction in risk of developing the disease than in those who don’t take it. Notably, they found that the reduced risk was especially apparent for those with other conditions that may increase their risk. This includes hypertension, type two diabetes, and coronary heart disease. (1)
The Study
It is important to note that the researchers didn’t actually test the drug specifically. Rather, they retrospectively analyzed health insurance claim data of over 7.2 million people. The records showed that those who took Viagra were less likely to develop Alzheimer’s over the next six years of follow-up compared to a control group who didn’t take it. (2)
To look at the possible effects of the drug, the team built 13 special modules to map the genetic factor that may dictate one to develop Alzheimer’s disease. Using these 13 modules, they studied over 1600 FDA-approved drugs that might help against these identified factors. Out of all of them, sildenafil proved to be the most promising.
With a sample size group that big, it’s easy for people to jump to the conclusion that Viagra prevents Alzheimer’s. The researchers remind us, however, that we shouldn’t get too excited just yet. Yes, this research suggests a very strong association between a reduced risk of the disease and the medication. This is not, however, proof of what’s called “causative effect”. It is a correlation that now needs to be studied further.
Read: Our eyes may provide early warning signs of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s
Why Is Association Not Good Enough?
Though the size of the group studied is huge (more than 7.2 million people huge), the researchers can’t claim this association as conclusive evidence. This is because, despite its size, the people who took the drug and had a reduced risk could still have something else that reduces their risk. While still, the Viagra may have helped, until they study it further the researchers can’t say to what extent.
More Research To Come
Still, they said that this combined with other indicators in their research show that sildenafil is a promising candidate for Alzheimer’s prevention. The reduction was significantly stronger than other medications also looked at in the study.
“Recent studies show that the interplay between amyloid and tau is a greater contributor to Alzheimer’s than either by itself,” said team leader Dr. Feixiong Cheng. “Therefore, we hypothesized that drugs targeting the molecular network intersection of amyloid and tau endophenotypes should have the greatest potential for success.”
The research team says that they believe this research could lead to incredible outcomes for not only Alzheimer’s patients, but for those who suffer from other neurodegenerative diseases, as well. This includes ones such as Parkinson’s Disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as ALS. Naturally, there is much more research on this drug and its effects on Alzheimer’s disease, among others, to come.
“We are now planning a mechanistic trial and a phase II randomized clinical trial to test causality and confirm sildenafil’s clinical benefits for Alzheimer’s patients,” said Dr. Cheng.
Considering Alzheimer’s disease is on course to impact 13.8 million Americans by 2050, this is certainly good news. Should the research continue to show success against the manifestation of the illness, we could drastically reduce this number. We can’t wait to see what the outcomes are of Dr. Cheng and his team’s continued research.
Keep Reading: Study: Memories of music cannot be lost to Alzheimer’s and dementia
Sources
- “Endophenotype-based in silico network medicine discovery combined with insurance record data mining identifies sildenafil as a candidate drug for Alzheimer’s disease.” Nature. Jiansong Fang, et al. December 6, 2021.
- “Cleveland Clinic research identifies sildenafil as candidate drug for Alzheimer’s disease.” EurekAlert. December 6, 2021.