Can Viagra Cut Alzheimer's Risk?

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Alzheimer's disease is a progressive memory loss that can greatly affect the elderly. Currently, people still do not know clearly about the disease, including its cause or effective treatment. It is important to find ways to reduce the risk of this condition. People who take Viagra have also been found to have a lower risk of Alzheimer's disease.

1. Can Viagra Reduce The Risk Of Alzheimer's Disease?

Viagra is a medication used to treat erectile dysfunction in men and is sometimes used to treat high blood pressure due to its vasodilating effect. There has been research that using viagra can reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease, then a new study has been carried out to add to the evidence that the famous drug can help reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease. development of degenerative conditions.
The team analyzed data from more than 7 million people to find sildenafil (Viagra) significantly reduces the likelihood of Alzheimer's disease. They planned and focused their research on drugs that could target two proteins considered markers of Alzheimer's disease, amyloid and tau, compared with drugs that target only one of them.
They have since found that drugs that target both types of targets provide better clinical benefit for people with Alzheimer's disease. Through this trial, researchers identified sildenafil (viagra) as a potential treatment for Alzheimer's disease.
Through the study they found that the participants were nearly 70% less likely to develop Alzheimer's disease. After six years of follow-up, the researchers found that people who took viagra had a 69 percent lower risk of developing Alzheimer's disease than those who didn't take the drug.
As such, this drug has a high potential to be prescribed early in high-risk individuals to help prevent Alzheimer's disease.
Next, to further test the drug's potential in treating Alzheimer's disease, the team created a laboratory model showing that viagra targets the tau protein and can boost brain cell growth , which is how the drug might work against the degenerative condition.

2. Limitations of taking viagra to reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease

First, you have to understand all of the above about using Viagra tablets or viagra 10ml liquid is still research and not really approved to use this drug as a prevention or treatment. More experimental studies are needed to draw definite conclusions.
In addition, in the course of the study, although they adjusted for factors that caused the results to be biased, the researchers acknowledged that confounding factors may exist due to limited clinical knowledge. their treatment of this complex disease.
Part of the impact of that study was that the data generated by the researchers came from insurance agency claims, which are often not very detailed and do not include information about other important risk factors for the disease. Alzheimer's, like gender, carries risk genes and socioeconomic status.
Currently, there is only one drug approved for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease: Aducanumab (Aduhelm). This is a drug that was recently approved by the FDA for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. However, this drug when used for treatment can cause many side effects for the patient. According to the Weill Institute of Neuroscience, about 40% of people taking the drug aducanumab develop encephalitis, and nearly 10% of those taking the drug will likely have to stop treatment due to concerns about encephalitis.

3. Other measures to reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease

Alzheimer's disease is a dangerous disease with no cure. Although, using viagra is controversial and more specific studies need to be conducted for this drug to be used in the prevention of memory impairment. But making lifestyle changes can reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease has been proven.
A study published in June 2020 found that following at least 4 out of 5 healthy lifestyle behaviors can reduce your risk of dementia by 60%. Such behaviors include:
You are physically active: Maybe you are not doing it now, so do it now, because it greatly reduces the risk of disease. You can practice exercises such as walking, jogging, cycling, yoga, swimming,... No smoking: You should try to give up smoking to help yourself limit many diseases. Like heart disease, diabetes, and a reduced risk of dementia. You can drink light to moderate amounts of alcohol: Drinking less alcohol may have little effect on your body. But when consuming large amounts of alcohol, there is a risk of liver disease and other systemic diseases. Diet: eat a good quality diet, which means plenty of berries and green vegetables and reduce the amount of meat consumed. The Mediterranean Diet - DASH is given as a criterion to compare with your current diet. This plant-based intervention for the treatment of delayed neurodegeneration (MIND) is the high-quality diet that researchers recommend. Take measures to keep your brain active: You can make your brain active by playing mind games, games that require mental concentration, reading books, participating in social activities. Not only do you reduce your risk of Alzheimer's disease, but these lifestyle changes can also help you live a better life, reducing the risk of many other diseases.
In summary, there has been research showing that taking viagra to treat high blood pressure and erectile dysfunction, can also reduce the chance of developing Alzheimer's disease by 69%. However, more studies are needed to confirm this, and these studies need to ensure high accuracy. Instead, adopt healthy lifestyle behaviors to help reduce your risk of dementia.

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