The OTHER health benefits of Viagra, from supposedly reducing the risk of Alzheimer’s disease to helping you overcome jet lag

Millions of men are turning to the little blue pill to improve their performance in the bedroom.

But researchers now say Viagra has another benefit: It could reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease by a fifth.

Regular users of the erectile dysfunction drug, medically known as sildenafil, were 18 percent less likely to be diagnosed with the memory-robbing disease.

But reducing the risk of Alzheimer’s disease isn’t the only potential benefit of taking the drug, which costs around £5 each.

Research has suggested that it can treat heart disease, speed recovery from jet lag and even make treatment for some cancers more effective.

Lowers the risk of Alzheimer’s

Researchers at University College London examined 269,725 men, average age 59, who had been diagnosed with erectile dysfunction but had no memory or thinking problems.

The study, published in the journal NeurologyResearch found that 9.7 in 10,000 men who did not use Viagra or similar erectile dysfunction drugs developed Alzheimer’s disease.

But the rate was only 8.1 per 10,000 among those taking such pills.

After adjusting for risk factors such as smoking, diet and alcohol consumption, the pills were linked to a reduced risk of 18 percent.

The link was strongest among men who wrote the most prescriptions – indicating that using the drug more regularly has the most protective effect.

Although the study does not conclusively prove that Viagra reduces the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, researchers believe the results are promising.

Lead author Matthew Adesuyan said: ‘The results are encouraging and may point to a new way to reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s.’

It is unclear how the drug might protect against Alzheimer’s disease.

However, the researchers noted that Viagra affects a cell signaling messenger thought to be linked to memory.

If the effects are confirmed in further research, the drug would be expected to have the same effect in women, according to the scientists.

Dr. Ruth Brauer, one of the researchers, said: ‘Although we are making progress with new treatments for Alzheimer’s disease that clear amyloid plaques in the brain, we urgently need treatments that can prevent or slow the development of Alzheimer’s disease.

‘More research is needed to confirm these findings, learn more about the potential benefits and mechanisms of these drugs and look at the optimal dosage.

‘A randomized, controlled trial with both male and female participants is warranted to determine whether these findings would also apply to women.’

Treats pulmonary hypertension

In addition to treating men with erectile dysfunction, doctors also prescribe sildenafil for pulmonary hypertension under the brand names Revatio and Grandipam.

This condition occurs when the blood vessels that supply blood to the lungs (the pulmonary arteries) become thick and stiff, meaning they cannot expand well enough to let blood through, causing high blood pressure.

Decreased blood flow makes it harder for the right side of the heart to pump blood through the blood vessels, which weakens the organ over time and can lead to heart failure.

Sildenafil works by relaxing the blood vessels in the chest and lowering blood pressure in the lungs, making it easier for the heart to pump blood.

Makes it easier to urinate

In addition to making it easier for men to maintain an erection, Viagra may also address another age-related problem: difficulty urinating.

About a third of men over the age of 50 experience urinary problems, with an enlarged prostate being the most common cause.

These may include difficulty starting or stopping urination, a weak urine stream, or difficulty emptying the bladder completely.

Viagra works by temporarily increasing blood flow to the penis and stimulating the smooth muscles in the penis to relax.

Dr. Irwin Goldstein, director of San Diego Sexual Medicine and author of studies on Viagra, said this has the side effect of “reducing the prostate’s grip on the urethra.”

“The higher grip causes problems when urinating,” he said Healthline.

Reduces jet lag

Viagra shouldn’t just be on people’s bedside tables, it should also end up in the suitcases of jet-setters.

This is evident from a 2007 study by researchers in Argentina, which showed that hamsters recovered from jet lag 50 percent faster if they were given Viagra.

The scientists changed the times they turned the lights on and off in a laboratory, creating the feeling that the hamsters had jumped time zones.

Some hamsters were given the drug and then monitored to see how well they adapted – measured by observing when they started running on running wheels.

The results, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, suggested that the effect was due to Viagra interfering with an enzyme that lowers levels of a compound essential for regulating the circadian cycle (the body’s internal clock).

The team suggested that the little blue pill could therefore help people adapt more easily to a new time zone or shift work.

Prevents mountain sickness

Viagra could help mountain climbers breathe easier and prevent them from becoming unwell, another study has suggested.

Researchers from Justus-Liebig University in Germany tested 14 healthy volunteers, recording pulmonary artery pressure and oxygen levels in a laboratory.

The same checks were repeated at Mount Everest base camp, at approximately 17,000 feet.

Half had received sildenafil, the other half served as a control group.

Results, published in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine in 2004 it appears that the medicine reduced pressure in the blood vessels of the lungs, both in laboratory and mountain conditions.

As a result, climbers were able to better tolerate hypoxia – low oxygen levels, which cause altitude sickness – as they climbed the peak of the Himalayas.

Shrinks cancerous tumors

Taking Viagra could make cancer treatment more effective, if separate research from 2022 is to be believed.

Academics from the University of Southampton found that PDE5 inhibitors – the class of erectile dysfunction drugs that also includes Viagra, Cialis and Levitra – make esophageal tumors more vulnerable to chemotherapy.

The drugs appeared to target cancer-associated fibroblasts – cells that surround and support tumors grow and help them build resistance to chemo.

PDE5 inhibitors relax the structure of the fibroblasts so that they become flaccid, meaning they can no longer help the tumor thrive and grow.

When the scientists tested PDE5 inhibitors on esophageal cancer cells in the laboratory and on mice, they found that chemotherapy was effective 75 percent of the time.

By comparison: chemo usually only works for 20 percent of esophageal cancer patients.