Recently, I saw a video online talking about this new scientific discovery: Viagra could potentially prevent Alzheimer’s Disease.
The drug most known for sexy times and dangerously long-lasting boners, might also help your other head to keep working longer, as well.
Obviously, I was intrigued.
…Now, anything you see online might be fake news.
Anything you hear in person might be fake news, too, but definitely check the sources before you go crazy. So that’s what I’ve done. I’ve looked into it. I’ve read the hard science and am now reporting back to you on what we know and also, just how much we don’t know yet.
Correlation is not causation
The study referenced in the video is a real study that did take place. However, it’s not a clinical trial. The researchers did some data mining of insurance claims to identify potential drug treatments for Alzheimer’s disease. There are millions of people included in this study, and of all those 7.23 million people’s data, those who took sildenafil (the active ingredient in Viagra) had a 69% reduced risk of Alzheimer’s disease.
That sounds pretty amazing, and it is! But does it mean that taking Viagra reduces your risk of Alzheimer’s disease? Not necessarily. It could, it certainly could, but as anyone who has studied any amount of science will know: correlation does not equal causation.
What that means is that this study points out that the people who are taking Viagra, are also less likely to have Alzheimer’s disease, but that might be for any number of reasons. Maybe people who take Viagra prioritise sex more than others do, and it’s actually sex and connection causing this effect. What sort of sex variations might impact this effect? The overwhelming majority of Viagra users are men, so we have no idea if this effect would be seen in women. From this study alone, we just don’t know.
But something’s definitely going on.
Amyloid-beta and tau proteins: a folding fail
There is still a lot we don’t know about Alzheimer’s disease, but we’re pretty sure it’s caused by a buildup of certain proteins; amyloid plaques and tau tangles.
Tau tangles sound like a tasty snack, but I sure you, they are not. They’re tau proteins that got folded all wrong and can lead to cell death and ultimately, cognitive decline. Similarly, amyloid plaques are a result of misfolded amyloid-beta proteins that disrupt cell signalling and weaken blood vessels.
Since we can’t shrink Melissa Pateras into The Magic School Bus to zoom around our brains, folding all the proteins properly, science has been looking for alternative treatments.
@melissadilkespateras Space saving fold #laundrytok #laundry #laundryhack #folding
Viagra is one of several drugs grouped as Phosphodiesterase‑5 inhibitors. A meta-analysis of clinical trials with these drugs shows promise in their ability to reduce amyloid-beta plaques and tau tangles. The science is pretty
compelling so far!
Viagra: fuck the pain away
Sildenafil (aka Viagra) was discovered in the early 90s when researchers were working on a treatment for angina (chest pain). It didn’t work for that, but there was a side effect they couldn’t overlook: raging boners.
Viagra works through mediating levels of something called cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP), which is essential for smooth muscle relaxation. Smooth muscle isn’t the kind of muscle you might be thinking of — it’s the muscles that line blood vessels, hollow organs and the digestive tract.
Because of this widespread effect, the potential uses for this drug go way beyond sex.
Officially, you can prescribe it for Erectile Dysfunction (ED) and Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (PAH). However, it is being investigated to treat gastrointestinal disorders, wound healing, depression, retinopathy and even cancer. Sildenafil’s effects on pain have shown promise in animal models. One day, it may be used for pain mediation in humans.
If Viagra itself doesn’t solve your pain problem, the sex you have in the hours after you take it just might! Sex has a great capacity for pain reduction through endorphins and stress relief. Those same pathways may also be protective against developing Alzheimer’s.
Sex vs Viagra for Alzheimer’s treatment
We know that scores on cognitive tests tend to be higher among those who have more sex. Consensual and good quality sex is cardiovascular exercise that boosts dopamine levels and improves social connections. A healthy sex life can do wonders for brain health. What is less clear, is the relationship between sex and Alzheimer’s.
A recent study investigating sexual activity and Alzheimer’s among older adults found a significant effect that varied by age and sex. Overall, men’s sex lives were more fulfilling than women’s, and the relationship to Alzheimer’s was clearer. For men over 75, frequency of sex was linked to better cognitive scores. Among men between 62 and 75, it was the quality of sex that was more linked to better cognitive measures.
But ultimately, there isn’t enough research that isolates the neuroprotective effects of having more and better sex. Is having more sex just as neuroprotective as taking Viagra? We don’t know, but we’re pretty sure that if you’re taking Viagra, you’re doing both.
Alzheimer’s as Type III Diabetes: the diet connection
The last 20 years has a seen explosive growth in nutritional research, and some of what we’ve discovered is the immense overlap between Alzheimer’s disease and insulin-resistance. This can develop from long-term overindulgence in sugary foods and drinks. What sets this form of insulin resistance apart from Type I and II Diabetes is that the receptors affected are in the brain.
Diet has a major impact on health outcomes that compound over time. The food system that has developed over our lifetimes has changed what we eat very rapidly. Most people don’t bat an eye at drinking a can of soda with lunch every day, or reaching for a sweet treat during that mid-afternoon slump. But that’s not what our bodies were made to withstand.
It may not be as flashy or easy as taking a little blue pill, but reducing your sugar intake can have dramatically wonderful results over time. Heck, even after just a couple weeks of cutting out refined
sugars can have a noticeable impact on the level of inflammation in your body. Don’t worry about natural sugars present in whole fruits and vegetables — the fibre and lack of processing of these foods keeps these sugars beneficial. So eat whole fruits, unprocessed, as they are, to satisfy your sweet cravings. Your brain will be happier for it.
What if you’re not a white man?
Viagra is approved for use in men with ED, and primarily used as such. There is some research into using sildenafil with women to improve sex, and there was moderate success. Compared to placebo, sildenafil improved arousal, orgasms and enjoyment of sex for women who took it, but this was a small study with a handful of dropouts due to side effects. A later study found that cognitive behavioural therapy was more effective for women.
Sildenafil can also be prescribed to treat PAH for both people of all genders and seems to be fairly safe. As with all medical research, more research is needed in women.
Some research has shown a difference in effect between racial groups, with white men gaining the most from this drug. Given this difference, we definitely need more research to see how using sildenafil to treat or prevent Alzheimer’s will impact anyone who’s not a white man.
Make your head last longer
While the science discoveries are new and exciting, it’s good to keep in mind that we have a lot of preventative strategies that we can already use. We know that there’s a strong link between sugar consumption and Alzheimer’s disease. We know that exercise and social connections are also potent protective measures to keep your brain healthier for longer.
Maybe one day we’ll be able to just take a pill and dissolve the consequences of a lifetime of bad choices, but that day is not today. We still have years of research ahead of us before we can start using this treatment, but we can make healthier lifestyle choices right now.
A sexy body is a healthy body, and a healthy body has a better chance of staying cognitively clear long into the future. You don’t have to follow Bryan Johnson’s Blueprint protocol. Just make the little, sustainable changes, bit by bit, and one day you’ll notice that fruit actually does taste better than candy, and you do feel better after a workout.
Until then, be well, and remember that if you find yourself taking a little, blue pill, it’s not just getting you hard. It’s doing some good for your brain, too.
And two heads are better than one.