Male Patients studied to take Viagra
Sildenafil the generic name for the erectile dysfunction drug Viagra may help prevent and treat Alzheimer’s disease, according to a study published in Nature Aging. Researchers from the Cleveland Clinic’s Genomic Medicine Institute analyzed a database of more than 7 million patients and found that after a six-year follow-up, patients who used sildenafil were 69% less likely to develop Alzheimer’s when compared to nonusers. Alzheimer’s is characterized by the buildup of beta amyloid and tau proteins in the brain. Currently, no amyloid or anti-tau Alzheimer’s treatments exist. Cleveland researchers determined which of the more than 1600 drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration targeted both amyloid and tau. “Sildenafil, which has been show to significantly improve cognition and memory in the preclinical models, presented as the best drug candidate.” Said one PhD whose patients used sildenafil also had a lower risk of Alzheimer’s than those who took the blood pressure losartan or the diabetes drug metformin, two medications currently being studied for their positive effects on dementia. *
Cataract Surgery a benefit??
Cataract Surgery Lessens Dementia Odds. Older adults with cataracts may lower their chances of developing Alzheimer’s disease by undergoing cataract surgery. A study in the JAMA internal Medicine found that seniors who underwent cataract surgery had a nearly 30% lower risk of developing dementia from any cause than those who avoided surgery and the lowered risk persisted for at least a decade. The benefit may be due to the increase in blue light, the shortest and highest-energy wavelength of the visible light spectrum. “Some special cells in the retina are associated with cognition and regulate sleep cycles, and these cells respond well to blue light.” Said one M.D. Cataracts specifically block blue light, and cataract surgery could reactivate those cells. This kind of evidence is as good as it gets in epidemiology. This is really exciting because no other medical intervention has shown such as strong association with lessening dementia risk in older adults. *
Here at Personal Senior Care Homes of West Chester we don’t give medical advice but we do provide information for you to make decisions about your health care choices on our blog. Please feel free to contact me personally to tour our fine homes where our core mission is to care for residents that suffer from Alzheimer’s and dementia. Steve Brock 513-870-9228