Men on Viagra may reduce their Alzheimer's risk – study

[bun_terminator]

The study is called "Phosphodiesterase Type 5 Inhibitors in Men With Erectile Dysfunction and the Risk of Alzheimer Disease" and published in "Neurology", for reference. It's open access, link: https://doi.org/10.1212/WNL.0000000000209131

[A_D_E_P_T]

All in all, it's not too surprising.

The paper mentions neuroprotective effects, but it has been known for a while that nearly all types of PDE inhibitor can boost cognitive function, which has led to some interest in them as nootropics: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25464010/

There has been some interest in PDE5 inhibitors, specifically, as treatments for Alzheimer's: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S03619...

And, in a 20 year old paper, a PDE5 inhibitor appears to have direct effects on memory consolidation in an animal model: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15312986/

So, yeah, if I fancied myself at risk for dementia, I don't think it would be unwise to take viagra or sildenafil as a precautionary neuroprotective measure.

[actionfromafar]

So many possible confounding factors. Men in partnerships are healthier, for one. There's also possible selection bias!

Edit based on comment below: possibly I am too cynical :-D

[ethbr1]

>> Covariates. We adjusted for an extensive number of covariates all measured before or at cohort entry. These included risk factors for AD and potential confounders associated with PDE5I exposure and AD. [...]

[globular-toast]

Imagine telling someone you made a website and they're like "cool, but did you even make sure it has the little green padlock?"

[fegu]

Or these men simply lead more active lives with regular exercise. Hard to tell.

[vanderZwan]

I was thinking along similar lines: sildenafil (the active compound in viagra) was originally researched as a hypertension medication. The link between hypertension and dementia is well-established, and hypertension is also extremely common and relatively underdiagnosed.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sildenafil

[_flux]

Wouldn't taking these kind of factors into account be quite basic part of the analysis?

Of course, they cannot take everything into account.

[jgalt212]

The study is a bit more sophisticated than that.

[andy_ppp]

Maybe the brain get's worse at clearing stuff out as your blood vessels age and viagra is opening them up? Cardio, weight lifting, HIIT, sauna, healthy balanced diet, yoga, inversions, beetroot juice, citrulline malate, etc. could all be worthy of investigation ;-)

[Xeyz0r]

Physical activity and a healthy lifestyle positively impact the body in any case. I would even add psychological well-being and, so to speak, harmony with oneself

[m463]

also, sex.

(more seriously, anything that improves your circulation will probably help with alzheimers, plus good sleep)

[ImHereToVote]

I wonder if flushing nicotinic acid would work to increase blood vessel function in old age?

[abdelhamidem]

What are inversions ?

[verisimi]

Perhaps it helps with the removal of adjuvants from the body.

[Throw73747]

Viagra is a medication used to treat pulmonary arterial hypertension. Better blood flow is one of the results.

[trashface]

Can someone explain how the study could successfully adjust for men in relationships taking this kind of med vs (especially) long time single men who don't?

Especially in older men, these groups can look nothing like each other.

[dreamcompiler]

It's a vasodilator, which is means it also reduces blood pressure (that was the drug's original purpose).

So it's conceivable that it could clear a wider exit pathway for amyloid plaques and other garbage that accumulates in the brain.

It's also why a significant fraction of men who take it develop headaches so painful that sex is the last thing on their mind. Welcome to vasodilators.

Oh and if you already take nitroglycerin for cardiac angina, you can't take viagra because you get twice the headache -- right before you pass out because your blood pressure crashed.

[dkekenflxlf]

is it safe to assume,

that this ffect is rue for taladafil/sindemafil based pills?

[isaacfrond]

A study for tadalafil or sildenafil would probably show the same effects. Not because of common mechanism that prevents Alzheimer, but because such studies would probably plagued by the same methodological problems.

[renegade-otter]

It's all the cardio, bro. Mystery solved. Next!

[whatscooking]

We should make a vaccine instead of repurposing established drugs amirite?

[finnjohnsen2]

Please let's make a downvote free thread for throwing jokes a round on this topic. We need this freedom for such a topic trending on HN.

There is so much low hanging fruit and we're all thinking of several I suspect. My initial thought was in the lane of 'drug is affecting one more head than intended', but it's missing some refinement I'll admit

[breckenedge]

Men on Viagra may reduce their Alzheimer's risk - study … in mice.

[jgrahamc]

No, let's not. We don't "need this freedom". And we're not "all thinking of several". Grow up.

[gunnihinn]

I read Playboy for the stories and take Viagra for the memories.

[jonplackett]

I nominate this specific comment thread for this purpose.