New research suggests that sildenafil, the active ingredient in the popular erectile dysfunction drug Viagra, may help prevent Alzheimer’s disease. The study found that people taking sildenafil were significantly less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease than similar patients not taking sildenafil. But researchers say whether the little blue pill is effective against neurological disorders has not yet been proven and clinical trials are needed to know for sure.
the study, published The study, published in the Alzheimer’s Disease Journal, was led by scientists at the Cleveland Clinic. Same team in 2021 paper We have found evidence from laboratory and insurance claims data that sildenafil may prevent or delay the onset of Alzheimer’s disease in older adults, possibly reducing the risk by up to 69%. Some researchers asked a question However, it is unclear whether the study design was truly able to show a clear association between reduction in Alzheimer’s disease and sildenafil use. The very next year, another study looked at Medicare data. not found That kind of connection.
However, this debate is far from over. In February this year, a third team of researchers examined UK medical data. found The risk of Alzheimer’s disease associated with sildenafil is significantly reduced, even if small. Now, the authors of the original study say they have found further evidence to support their hypothesis.
Here, the team analyzed claims data from two large patient databases. They tested patients taking sildenafil and patients taking one of four drugs commonly used to treat pulmonary hypertension, a type of high blood pressure that affects the lungs. We compared. Sildenafil is best known as an adjunct to erectile dysfunction, but it is also approved and commonly used for this condition.
The research team again found that patients taking sildenafil were less likely to be later diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease than the comparison group, with a reduced risk ranging from 30% to 54%. They also conducted laboratory experiments testing sildenafil on neurons grown from stem cells from Alzheimer’s patients. They found that the drug promotes the growth of neurites (the projections that neurons use to communicate with each other) and a potentially toxic form of tau protein, two proteins thought to be responsible for Alzheimer’s disease. found that it appears to reduce the accumulation of Potential clues as to how sildenafil actually lowers Alzheimer’s risk.
“Our findings further strengthen the importance of repurposing this existing FDA-approved drug as a new treatment for Alzheimer’s disease, where new treatments are sorely needed,” said senior author. said Feixiong Cheng in a paper. statement From the Cleveland Clinic.
Scientists are quick to caution that studies cannot conclusively show that sildenafil can prevent or slow Alzheimer’s disease. But they and other scientists say they have collected enough promising data to merit at least a larger, more definitive test of the hypothesis.
“We believe our study results provide the necessary evidence for clinical trials to further investigate the potential efficacy of sildenafil in Alzheimer’s disease patients,” Chen said.
