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A new , gravid observational study has impertinently stoked the debate as to whether takingsildenafil , the combat-ready element in the erectile - dysfunction drugViagra , can assist ward offAlzheimer ’s disease .
The field included an depth psychology of insurance claim data from more than 2 million patients withpulmonary arterial high blood pressure , a form of high blood pressure in the lung . It reveal that people who took sildenafil — which is used to treat this condition under the sword nameRevatio — had a 30 % to 54 % lower risk of exposure of make grow Alzheimer ’s , compare with patients who take four other type of descent - pressure drug .
The sildenafil - plow nerve cell also switched on cistron tied to nerve ontogeny and reducedinflammation . In their new report , published March 19 in theJournal of Alzheimer ’s Disease , the scientists conclude that sildenafil could be a " potential repurposable drug " for this shape of dementia .
But fit in to the researcher and other expert , more research is justify .
concern : Alzheimer ’s may be because of resistant cells reckon head cells are bacteria , expert says
Over the preceding two decades , numerousanimal studiesandobservationalstudiesin humans have demonstrated this potential link between the little blue pill and Alzheimer ’s disease risk . However , the jury is still very much out on whether and how it works .
scientist do n’t yet empathize the physiological mechanism by which sildenafil could touch mind disorders like Alzheimer ’s , but several suggestions have been made . For example , sildenafil works byrelaxing rake vesselsand increasing rakehell flow by stamp down an enzyme called phosphodiesterase 5 . In the case of Viagra , this help users maintain penile erections , whereas for Revatio users , it helps to frown blood pressure . In theory , sildenafil might somehow increase roue flow to the learning ability and thushelp clear proteins associated with Alzheimer ’s , such as phosphorylated tau .
However , otherobservational researchin humans has put a damper on this idea , hinting that these kinds of drugs may not have any effect on the disease .
" While sildenafil can reach the mentality , it is questionable if the dose taken and the time course over which the drug was aim can touch on farsighted term change in brain function that contribute to Alzheimer’s,“Mark Dallas , an associate professor in cellular neuroscience at the University of Reading in the U.K. who was not involved in the research , told Live Science in an electronic mail .
Aspects of how the late Journal of Alzheimer ’s Disease study was deport also cast question on the findings .
For model , although the authors tried to account for some factors that could influence the development of Alzheimer ’s — such as sex , long time and comorbidities — they did n’t consider factors like genetic science and socioeconomic position . This may have predetermine their finding . The authors also treated the neuron in the lab with really gamey , and potentially unrealistic , doses of sildenafil that were around 1,000 times greater than the amount thought to be able-bodied toreach the nous .
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Definitively proving that taking sildenafil trim the danger of Alzheimer ’s disease will ask declamatory , clinical trials that include a control group that is appropriately equate to treated individuals in terms of age , sex and medical account . This will admit scientist to paint a clearer picture of the true , potential brain - protecting effect of the drug , as well as any potential side upshot it may have .
" The idea of repurposing drug for dementia is tantalizing , " Dallas said . " However there is a need to carry out well contrive clinical trials to provide the full-bodied evidence fundament postulate to lend sildenafil to drugs that can grapple Alzheimer ’s disease . "
This clause is for informational purposes only and is not intend to offer aesculapian advice .
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