British researchers have determined a link between treatments for erectile dysfunction and a reduced risk of Alzheimer’s disease.
- Alzheimer’s disease is a neurodegenerative pathology, which damages memory and certain cognitive functions.
- Men undergoing treatment for erectile dysfunction may be at less risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, according to a recent study.
- Further research is needed to confirm these initial results.
In France, around 900,000 people are affected by Alzheimer’s disease. This neurodegenerative disease mainly affects memory as well as cognitive functions related to language, reasoning and learning. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), a healthy lifestyle can prevent Alzheimer’s disease. A recent British study also suggested that erectile dysfunction medications, such as Viagra, could reduce the risk of developing the condition.
Treatments for erectile dysfunction could prevent Alzheimer’s disease
For the purposes of this research published in the journal Neurology, Researchers from University College London (United Kingdom) recruited 269,725 male participants, with an average age of 59, suffering from erectile dysfunction. Follow-up lasted five years. Initially, the volunteers had no problems with memory or thinking. About 55% of them had prescriptions for erectile dysfunction medications. The remaining 45% were not receiving any treatment.
During the work, nearly 1,119 people developed Alzheimer’s disease. In the group receiving treatment for erectile dysfunction, 749 were affected by dementia, which corresponds to a rate of 8.1 cases per 10,000 person-years, a unit of measurement representing both the number of people participating in the study and the time each person spends in the study. Among the people who did not take medication, 370 developed the neurodegenerative pathology, a rate of 9.7 cases per 10,000 person-years.
Medications against erectile dysfunction: “these results are encouraging and justify continued research”
Scientists also evaluated risk factors that can influence Alzheimer’s disease (age, smoking, alcohol consumption). After taking them into account, they observed that men receiving erectile dysfunction drugs had an 18% lower risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease compared to the group who did not take them. However, this is only an observational study, which was based on patients’ prescription records. The researchers did not have information on whether participants actually used the medications.
Additional work is therefore necessary to confirm these initial conclusions. “These results are encouraging and justify continued research (…) A randomized, controlled trial with male and female participants is also essential to determine whether they also apply to women”underlined Doctor Ruth Brauer, author of the study and researcher at the School of Pharmacy at University College London.
