A link has been found between a popular men's remedy and the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease.

Drugs Protect Brain from Neurodegenerative Disease

Erection dysfunction drugs such as Viagra may inadvertently reduce a man's chance of developing Alzheimer's disease, a new study has found. Alzheimer's Research UK called the study results «encouraging» but supported further research.

Alzheimer's Research UK says the ability to repurpose drugs to fight the disease could help «accelerate progress and open up new opportunities to prevent or treat the diseases that cause dementia.»

However, the organization said more research is needed to confirm the results and study the effect the pill may have on women and other people.

In a paper published in the journal Neurology, experts at University College London examined the medical records of 269,725 men over 40 who were diagnosed with erectile dysfunction between 2000 and 2017. More than half of those surveyed were prescribed a type of medication known as a PDE5I drug, which includes Viagra and others. During a follow-up period of an average of 5.1 years, 1,119 men were diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.

A statistical analysis conducted by the University of California found that men who took the drugs were 18 percent less likely to develop the disease compared with those who had erectile dysfunction but were not taking the drugs.

Lead author Ruth Brower said: «While we are making progress in developing new treatments for Alzheimer's disease that help clear amyloid plaques in the brains of people with the early stages of the disease, we are desperate for treatments that can prevent or delay the development of Alzheimer's disease.»

But experts stress that more research is needed to confirm these findings, learn more about the potential benefits and mechanisms of action of these drugs and determine the optimal dosage.

Leah Mursalin, head of research at Alzheimer's Research UK, believes that «the development drugs for diseases such as Alzheimer's disease is an expensive process and can take many years.»

She added: «While this is an encouraging discovery, it does not yet confirm whether these drugs are directly responsible for reducing the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease, and whether they can slow or stop the progression of the disease, so further research, including clinical trials, is needed to confirm whether these drugs may actually play a role in preventing or treating Alzheimer's disease.»

The researchers noted that previous animal studies have shown that PDE5I drugs have some «neuroprotective benefits.»