2024-08-14 00:07:03
A large study in the United Kingdom reveals that men who take sildenafil have an 18% lower risk of Alzheimer’s.
Drugs to treat erectile dysfunctionof which the sildenafilo (Viagra) is the famous one, would be associated with a lower risk of suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. This is stated in an observational study carried out with almost 270,000 men published by the journal NeurologyAlthough this is not the first time that this relationship has been detected, the American Academy of Neurology nevertheless clarifies that “it only shows an association” between both factors, and does not allow a cause-effect to be deduced.
The research, led by University College London, examined medical records of 269,725 men with an average age of 59 years who had been recently diagnosed with erectile dysfunction but had no memory or thinking problems at the start of the study.
The 55% of participants who had been prescribed drugs to improve sexual function were compared with 45% who had not. During a median follow-up of five years, 1,119 people developed Alzheimer’s diseaseThe conclusion of the work was that people who took drugs for erectile dysfunction had a 18% less likely to develop Alzheimer’s.
«The study demonstrates a relationship between the prescription of phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors and reduced risk of Alzheimer’s disease in men,” explains Ivan Koychev, senior clinical researcher at the Oxford University Dementia Platform, in statements to Science Media Centre. «The risk appears to be dose-dependent, i.e. the Risk reduction is greater with more prescriptions. It is also more pronounced in people with risk factors for heart disease (high blood pressure, diabetes), suggesting that the effect may be due to neuroprotection through vascular mechanisms.”
However, Koychev cautions that this study is limited by the challenge of establishing causal relationships in epidemiological studies. “In addition, these types of drugs are often taken on an as-needed basis, so it is difficult to know how much was actually taken and how often. The link to Alzheimer’s disease in particular is controversial, as a significant proportion of dementia cases clinically diagnosed as Alzheimer’s are known to have additional or alternative pathologies«.
“Developing drugs for diseases like Alzheimer’s is an expensive process that can take many years,” says Leah Mursaleen, Research Director at Alzheimer’s Research UK. “The possibility of repurposing drugs already approved for other conditions “This could accelerate progress and open up new avenues for preventing or treating diseases that cause dementia.” However, he stressed that it has not yet been proven whether the reduction in risk is a direct effect of sildenafil or is due to other factors.
«Further research, including clinical trials, will be needed to confirm whether these drugs can actually play a role in preventing or treating Alzheimer’s. Such studies will also need to reveal whether these drugs can have effects in other groups, such as women and men without erectile function diagnosis“We also need to understand how these tests could be applied to more diverse populations,” he concludes.
Source: EL ESPAÑOL.COM