Viagra May Lower the Risk of Alzheimer ’s

Viagra is best known for helping erectile dysfunction, but the latest research suggests it might also lower the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. Viagra belongs to a group of drugs known as phosphodiesterase Type 5 inhibitors, which work by relaxing blood vessels and increasing blood flow in the penis. In a study published in Neurology, researchers found that the drugs were also associated with a lower risk of Alzheimer’s disease. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] The study analyzed the health records of nearly 270,000 men in the U.K. who were diagnosed with erectile dysfunction from 2000 to 2017. The researchers compared rates of Alzheimer’s disease among men who had been prescribed drugs to treat their erectile dysfunction (primarily sildenafil, the generic name for Viagra) to those among men who had not been prescribed the drugs. In the U.K., lifestyle changes are the first line of treatment for the condition, and if those are not effective, then doctors prescribe medications. (In 2018, after the participants were enrolled, sildenafil became available without a prescription at pharmacies.) Men who were prescribed a medication had an 18% lower risk of having Alzheimer’s than those who were not. The reduction was greater among men who got 20 or more prescriptions over the study’s five-year follow up period. “We didn’t have strong expectations and were thinking that surely there was no direct evidence between these ...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized healthscienceclimate Source Type: news