Viagra that can prevent, treat Alzheimer’s found

Researchers at Cleveland Clinics Genomic Medicine Institute have found that sildenafil, a generic form of the erectile dysfunction drug Viagra, holds promise for preventing and treating Alzheimer’s disease.

The findings published in Nature Aging, a global peer-reviewed scientific journal, show that sildenafil, which has been shown to significantly improve cognition and memory in preclinical models, emerged as the best candidate among 1,600 existing medications analysed, according to the study lead  Feixiong Chen.

The study is the offshoot of a project to find drugs with good potential for re-purposing as dementia drugs , according to the experts. 

The investigators found out that for over a six years, those who used sildenafil were found to have 69 per cent lower odds of developing Alzheimer’s than their peers who did not use the drug.

“Notably, we found that sildenafil use reduced the likelihood of Alzheimer’s in individuals with coronary artery disease, hypertension and type 2 diabetes, all of which are comorbidities significantly associated with risk of the disease, as well as in those without,” Mr Chen noted.

They are currently planning trials to test causality and to confirm sildenafil’s clinical benefits for Alzheimer’s patients. 

“We also foresee our approach being applied to other neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson’s disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, to accelerate the drug discovery process,” the study lead said.

Mr Cheng said subsequent analysis showed the link between taking the drug, which is also approved to treat high blood pressure (Revatio), and lowered dementia risk.

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