Sildenafil, aka Viagra, brings more to the table than we previously thought. Researchers at Oxford University can reveal that it enhances blood flow to the brain and improves the function of brain blood vessels in people at risk of vascular dementia.
Vascular dementia is a common type of dementia. Reduced blood flow to the brain is a primary cause of it. The word “vascular” refers to anything related to the vessels of the body that carry blood – i.e., arteries and veins – and lymph. So anything that improves blood flow to the brain – however it achieves this – is a preventive against vascular dementia.
Viagra revealed to help fight two commonest causes of vascular dementia
Research published in the academic journal Circulation Research sheds new light on the health benefits of taking Silenafil, which most people know by the brand name Viagra.
Besides its primary use, doctors sometimes prescribe Viagra to treat pulmonary hypertension, or, high blood pressure in the blood vessels that supply the lungs.
Now, however, it has another string to add to its bow. A new trial at the University of Oxford has found that Viagra boosts blood flow to the brain and improves the responsiveness of the vessels that carry it, among people who suffer from vascular dementia.
Chronic damage to the small blood vessels in the brain is the leading cause of vascular dementia. Since blood flow and the responsiveness of blood vessels are two of the most important factors scientists associate with damage to the vessels in the brain, this demonstrates the exciting potential of Viagra to prevent, or treat, this type of dementia.
Chronic damage to small blood vessels in the brain also causes strokes and brain bleeds
Vascular dementia lacks specific therapies, according to Oxford University’s writeup of the Circulation Research paper. That’s why this research is so significant: it has the potential to transform treatment and prevention of brain function decline.
Chronic damage to the small blood vessels in the brain doesn’t only cause vascular dementia. It also contributes to nearly a third of strokes, and more than three quarters of brain bleeds.
Impaired blood vessel function, reduced blood flow to the brain, and high blood pressure all make strokes and brain bleeds more likely.
Sildenafil lowers vessel resistance, enhances blood flow response to carbon dioxide, and increases blood flow in both small and large brain vessels. And, compared with cilostazol, a similar drug used to treat vascular disease, sildenafil causes fewer side effects.
What next?
The Oxford University trial was thorough, but not particularly large-scale. It involved 75 participants, it was double-blind, and there were placebos.
Next steps must involve larger-scale trials. These will confirm and improve upon these findings, and enable researchers to explore sildenafil’s potential in treating, or even preventing, vascular dementia.
Among the conditions that are believed to damage blood vessels are high blood sugar. This is why some neuroscientists recommend replacing sugar with less harmful substitutes.
There are other places you can look, too, when assessing the chances of dementia diagnosis later in life. One of them, believe it or not, is your mouth. There’s a curious link between teeth and the risk of dementia.
Lead researcher Dr Alastair Webb is an associate professor at the Wolfson Centre for Prevention of Stroke and Dementia at Oxford University. He is a Wellcome Trust CRCD Fellow and completed his doctorate at Oxford.
