New study shows: Viagra can be used to treat Alzheimer's disease

Viagra could be a useful treatment against Alzheimer's disease, the most common form of dementia, affecting hundreds of millions of people around the world, according to a US study.

Although it is a common disease, there is currently no effective treatment for Alzheimer's.

Viagra is well known for its use in treating erectile dysfunction and pulmonary hypertension

Researchers at the Cleveland Clinic - an American nonprofit academic medical center based in Cleveland, Ohio - studied more than 1,600 drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to identify the best candidate for the treatment of Alzheimer's.

According to Dr. Feixiong Cheng, study leader, Sildenafil has been shown to significantly improve cognition and memory. Viagra is the brand name of Sildenafil, best known for its use in treating erectile dysfunction and pulmonary arterial hypertension.

The scientists compared the results of Sildenafil users with non-users in a database of 7 million people.

During a 6-year follow-up, they found that Sildenafil users were 69 percent less likely to develop Alzheimer's disease than non-sildenafil users. The findings are published in the journal Nature Aging.

Dr. Cheng warned the study did not prove a cause-and-effect relationship between Sildenafil and Alzheimer's disease.

Dr Ivan Koychev, a senior clinical researcher at the University of Oxford, said the finding was "exciting".

"While this data is scientifically interesting, based on this study, there is no rush to use Sildenafil as a preventive measure for Alzheimer's disease," said Professor Tara Spiers-Jones, associate director of the Center for Brain Science. at the University of Edinburgh (United Kingdom), said.