Taking Viagra could reduce the risk of having Alzheimer's disease: the surprising results of this study

Les médicaments contre les troubles de l'érection pourraient permettre de réduire le risque de développer la maladie d'Alzheimer, révèle une étude. samael334/Getty Images

Are erectile dysfunction drugs the key to ending Alzheimer's disease ? The science is not there yet, but it is clear that research is now focusing on this potential avenue. After considering Viagra as a possible treatment from 2021, scientists view it as a preventative means, believing that it could significantly reduce the risk of developing the disease.

More than 55 million people suffer from some form of dementia worldwide, with as many as 10 million new cases each year, according to data presented by the ;#39;World Health Organization (WHO) in March 2023.

The health authority specifies that Alzheimer's disease remains the most common cause, and that there is no cure for dementia. . But that does not stop scientists from exploring all avenues to try to stop this health, societal and economic burden. The latest discovery concerns the role that medications for erectile dysfunction, such as Viagra, could play in the prevention of Alzheimer's disease.

"Although we are making progress with new treatments for Alzheimer's disease that clear amyloid plaques in the brain in people with early stages of the disease, we desperately need treatments that can prevent or delay the development of Alzheimer's disease, eexplains Ruth Brauer, researcher at University College London (UCL), in a press release. And it is on the drugs used to treat erectile dysfunction that the authors of this work specifically focused here.

Their research was based on data from 269,725 men with an average age of 59, who received a positive diagnosis for erectile dysfunction. The scientists specify that the participants had no memory or thinking problems at the start of the study, that they were followed over a period of five years on average, and that 1,119 of them developed Alzheimer's disease. In total, 55% of participants had a prescription for erectile dysfunction medications, and 45% did not.

What the study says

Published in the journal Neurology, this work suggests a link between taking medications for erectile dysfunction and a reduction in the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease, after taking into account multiple Factors likely to influence results such as age, smoking, and alcohol consumption. It is specified that the risk of developing the disease was 18% lower in people who took this type of treatment, compared to those who did not take it, but also that the link was even stronger among those who had been prescribed the greatest number of prescriptions during the study.

"Further research is needed to confirm these findings, learn more about the potential benefits and mechanisms of these drugs, and study optimal dosing . A randomized, controlled trial with male and female participants is warranted to determine whether these findings also apply to women", concludes Ruth Brauer, lead author of this work.

This is not the first time that Viagra has been the subject of such research. In the fall of 2023, researchers from Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York already suggested that taking this type of medication had reduced the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease by 60%, following work carried out with more than 27,000 people.