[HN Gopher] Sildenafil as a candidate drug for Alzheimer's disease
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Sildenafil as a candidate drug for Alzheimer's disease
Author : CharlesW
Score : 58 points
Date : 2022-12-12 14:56 UTC (8 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (www.nature.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (www.nature.com)
| acedan wrote:
| bitwize wrote:
| Yeah, except this was published in December 2021. A NIH study
| from October 2022 with actual control and experimental groups
| shows no reduced risk of Alzheimer's among sildenafil takers:
| https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/nih-dream-stud...
| corndoge wrote:
| And indeed that one links to OP's article as an example of the
| original results it was investigating.
| hericium wrote:
| What could be the side effects of microdosing it for potential
| cognitive benefits?
| armatav wrote:
| Hard time walking sideways through doorways
| pelasaco wrote:
| exciting news /s
| pelasaco wrote:
| "hard" to believe /s
| SEJeff wrote:
| Unrelated but funny anecdote.
|
| My daughter was on Sildenafil while she was in the NICU on ECMO
| (look it up if you want to see something very metal for an 11 day
| old infant to be on). While she was on ECMO, she was medically
| paralyzed so she didn't pull the cannula out of her jugular vein.
| She was on sildenafil as a blood thinner so her blood didn't clot
| in the ECMO circuit.
|
| I was chatting about this on facebook and soon after realized
| that sildenafil is a common drug used to treat ED in men. I got
| ED ads in facebook for the better part of 2 years after this one
| post and found it quite amusing.
|
| She's a healthy and happy 4 year old now. That treatment (and
| sildenafil) ultimately saved her life.
| balls187 wrote:
| Glad to hear your daughter is healthy and happy! I'm not sure
| where you're based out of, but I am thankful that my kids had
| access to a highly sophisticated NICU's.
|
| And funny enough Sildenafil for a ED treatment came about
| because that was a sideffect during medical trials for treating
| blood pressure.
| ajaimk wrote:
| That's a roller coaster for this drug; Started off as high blood
| pressure candidate, ends up at Alzheimer's candidate (with a
| detour in the middle of course).
| Scoundreller wrote:
| Don't forget about it's longer acting cousin (tadalafil)
| working for prostate problems.
|
| https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4054509/
|
| Sildenafil is used for pulmonary hypertension, oddly after it's
| approval for erectile dysfunction. I guess that's a home run?
|
| And let's not forget, Google wouldn't be where it is today
| without all the ads it sold for "natural" viagra from overseas
| pharmacies.
| arcticbull wrote:
| > And let's not forget, Google wouldn't be where it is today
| without all the ads it sold for "natural" viagra from
| overseas pharmacies.
|
| Overseas pharmacies like RX Limited, the one run by Paul Le
| Roux. [1]
|
| [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Le_Roux
| raverbashing wrote:
| > Google wouldn't be where it is today without all the ads it
| sold for "natural" viagra from overseas pharmacies.
|
| Hah I wonder if anyone has measured the size of those
| "markets"
| arcticbull wrote:
| Prosecutors have, from time to time.
|
| Le Roux's RX Limited in particular was running hundreds of
| millions of dollars per year. [1] Some estimates put his
| take at $400M total. [2] I bet Ratliff has some specific
| estimates in Mastermind.
|
| [1] https://www.dw.com/en/from-programmer-to-gangster-boss-
| the-u...
|
| [2] https://www.startribune.com/how-minnesota-agents-
| helped-find...
| Scoundreller wrote:
| $500m settled by Google for ads from "Canadian"
| pharmacies (many of which weren't actually in Canada).
|
| Chump change for Google when they settled it, but
| basically free venture capital when they booked it as
| revenue:
|
| https://amp.theguardian.com/technology/2011/aug/24/google
| -se...
| ProjectArcturis wrote:
| Confounded stats, of course. Older people who are physically and
| mentally healthy enough for sex are far less likely to have
| Alzheimer's.
| netaustin wrote:
| Off-label uses that appear to actually be effective include
| altitude sickness and prevention of SIPE (Swimming Induced
| Pulmonary Edema). I take it for the latter, and it's
| remarkable. No Sildenafil = I cough up blood after just a few
| minutes swimming in cold water (as in a triathlon). Sildeanfil
| = no ill effects whatsoever. I'm unclear how a vasodilator
| would impact a neurological disease.
| TrevorJ wrote:
| Asking because I am genuinely curious, if you are willing to
| share: What mindset do you have where you keep doing an
| activity that normally results in you coughing up blood? I
| know that sounds like a super disrespectful question, it's
| just the sort of thing I think about a lot due to having some
| health related activity restrictions that I've had to
| negotiate with myself. Always interested in what other
| people's journeys are in this space.
| netaustin wrote:
| Ha, fair. I love open water swimming and triathlon, and I
| can do it in not-cold water or a pool indefinitely, plus
| the Sildenafil entirely prevents it in cold water. Even
| without Sildenafil all I have to do is stop swimming and
| I'm fully better after an hour or so.
| TrevorJ wrote:
| Well that's good! I imagine the first time it happened
| must have been disturbing.
| netaustin wrote:
| Yes. The first time it happened was in the Hudson River
| in the NYC triathlon. I thought for sure that I'd just
| ingested some sludge, and I went on to complete the race,
| after which I was sent to the hospital (I walked). My
| pulse ox was 86. Most triathlon deaths occur during the
| swim portion of the race and are attributed to cardiac
| events, often SCD, but pulmonary edema may actually be
| the primary cause. A teeny bit of education (chest
| congestion? get out of the damn water!) could save lives,
| but nobody in the business of triathlon wants to scare
| off new participants, since the amateur fee-paying end of
| the sport is really the whole game.
| eloff wrote:
| The biggest thing you can do for Alzheimer's is be physically
| fit at mid life. I don't suppose that's correlated with sex and
| Viagra usage... Oh wait.
| HideousKojima wrote:
| I realize anecdotes aren't data etc. etc. but my grandpa was
| very fit up through retirement (and stayed spry after
| retirement) since he repaired dishwashers, washing machines,
| and dryers for his whole career. Still got an absolutely
| terrible case of Alzheimer's that led to his death (and made
| me much more worried about my potential of getting it when I
| get older). Won't even try to think about if he and my
| grandma were sexually active though, too gross.
|
| So being physically fit definitely doesn't guarantee you
| won't get Alzheimer's.
| hellotomyrars wrote:
| Agree this is a very possible explanation. Though it is also
| possible that the use of viagra leads to more sexual activity
| for the elderly which promotes and maintains their health to
| begin with. So not directly attributable to the pharmacology of
| the viagra but still a contributing factor to the result.
| JamesBarney wrote:
| There is also a confound in the other direction too, people who
| need sildenafil for erections are probably less healthy than
| ones who don't
| mikestew wrote:
| Maybe, maybe not? One reason for a sildenafil prescription
| could be prostrate surgery for cancer. If that works, and
| it's a one-and-done, then no further health problems from
| that should surface. OTOH, if one is taking sildenafil
| because of side effects of blood pressure medicine, then
| yeah, there's a point to be made there. OTOOH, some folks
| take it for side effects of some traumatic event, which did
| not necessarily have any effect on overall health.
|
| So I'm not so sure that a sildenafil prescription is a
| reliable health indicator.
| [deleted]
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