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Lets talk about —
Viagra —
- The generic name SILDENAFIL,
- Sold under the brands of VIAGRA (used to treat erectile dysfunction) REVATIO (used to treat pulmonary arterial hypertension and improve exercise capacity, in men and women)
- Drug class IMPOTENCE AGENTS (drugs.com)
What is Viagra?
Viagra relaxes the muscles found in the walls of blood vessels and increases blood flow to particular areas of the body.
Viagra is used to treat impotence in men.
Common Viagra side effects may include:
- Flushing (warmth, redness, or tingly feeling);
- Headache, dizziness;
- Abnormal vision (blurred vision, changes in color vision)
- Runny or stuffy nose, nosebleeds;
- Sleep problems (insomnia);
- Muscle pain, back pain; or
- Upset stomach.
- Others may occur. Call your doctor for medical advice.
Always use Viagra under medical supervision.
Alzheimer’s —
Alzheimer’s is a disease of cognitive decline and memory loss.
Early signs include —
- Disruptive Memory loss is that which affects your everyday life. Where did I put the car keys? Did I switch off the TV? And you just can’t remember what you did. This includes finding the TV remote in the fridge!
- Difficulty socialising or having conversations, you tend to turn down invites or join in conversations when at events or you totally lose thread of thought while in a conversation.
- Routine tasks become a chore, you have to write a shopping list over and over again or you forget the route you usually drive home to or your phone number or writing a cheque.
- Mood swings, not just mild but drastic mood changes of anxiousness or depression or feeling confused, snapping at family or quick to anger. Watch out for personality changes.
The correlation between Viagra and Alzheimer’s —
Other than being used as a drug for only impotence, Viagra has also been recommended for hypertension and now emerging as potential treatment for Alzheimer’s disease.
Three different research programs revealed —
1- A study by researchers from Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York —
27000 people aged 65 plus, were split into two groups.
Half were prescribed Sildenafil and the other half not.
After a six-year follow up period, the results revealed that those who took the prescribed Viagra, had reduced levels of a protein enzyme called PDE5. Raised levels of this enzyme, is what accelerates Alzheimer’s disease.
In fact Viagra can reduce up to 60% chances of the risk of developing Alzheimer’s as PDE5 levels that manage brain memory are reduced.
2- Researchers from the Cleveland Clinic screened and validated more than 1600 drugs approved for use by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and used these drugs on seven million patients to create a database and analysis of all the drugs.
The drugs that scored the highest on these tests were the protein enzymes ‘amyloid’ and ‘tau’ both of which are Alzheimer’s disease markers.
They concluded that sildenafil was associated with a 69% reduction in these protein enzymes, significantly reducing the risk of comorbidities such as Alzheimer’s disease, Coronary Artery disease, Hypertension and Type-2-Diabeties.
3- An Alzheimer’s patient-derived brain cell model using brain stems, found that sildenafil increased brain cell growth and decreased one of the significant causes of tau tangles in the brain.
In conclusion —
- According to the Alzheimer’s Association, the number of people 65 and older with Alzheimer’s disease is 6.7 million and is expected to grow to 12.7 million by 2050.
- The pace at which medication is being developed is slow and that can be frustrating for patients and their families to cope with.
- Lifestyle choices that benefit the heart will delay the onset of Alzheimer’s disease, its in your hands, choose a heart –healthy diet, exercise and stay happy.
- While researchers are looking into whether blood pressure medication may benefit people with Alzheimer’s or the connection between heart disease and Alzheimer’s to find new potential medicines. This little blue pill by Pfizer’s called Viagra, will continue its role in reducing the risk of Alzheimer’s disease.
