Could VIAGRA improve memory?
Drug used to treat erectile problems could be used to stave off dementia.
- Vascular dementia is the second most common form of dementia
- It is caused by damage to blood vessels in the brain which bring oxygen
- This leads to decreased blood flow to the brain, starving it of oxygen
- Means parts of the brain become damaged, causing memory problems
- Tadalfil – a drug similar to Viagra – works by dilating blood vessels
- Experts think it could treat dementia by increasing blood flow to the brain
Viagra could be used to stop the onset of dementia, scientists believe.
A trial has been launched to see if the drug – normally used to treat erectile problems in men – could help stave off a common form of the disease.
The drug, called Tadalfil – which is in the same family as Viagra – works by dilating blood vessels.
Scientists believe it could treat vascular dementia by increasing blood flow to the brain.
Scientists believe a drug called Tadalfil – which is similar to Viagra (pictured) – could be used as a treatment for dementia, by increasing blood flow to the brain
Vascular dementia is the second most common form of dementia, and accounts for around 110,000 cases of dementia in the UK.
It is caused by damage to the small blood vessels of the brain, leading to reduced blood flow to brain tissue.
This damage to the brain’s blood vessels – known as small vessel disease – makes artery walls become thick and stiff, which prevents them from responding to the brain’s changing need for blood.
The result is damage to deep parts of the brain due to insufficient blood supply, leading to problems with memory.
The damage, which can develop and progress over many years, is seen in the brains of 50-70 per cent of older people.
The researchers hope Tadalafil’s blood-flow boosting properties can prevent this damage, and stave off vascular dementia.
Dementia, characterised by deterioration in memory, thinking, behaviour and the ability to perform everyday activities.
Worldwide, 35.6 million people have dementia and there are 7.7 million new cases every year, according to World Health Organization figures.
Leader’s at last year’s first G8 summit on dementia called for increased investment and global collaboration in dementia research in order to find a treatment for the disease by 2025.
As part of the new study, Tadalfil will be given to 50 participants over the age of 65 who have small vessel disease following a stroke, or some problems with their memory.
Researchers will measure blood flow to the brain before and after a dose of the drug with a special type of MRI called arterial spin labelling.
It will use radiowaves to magnetise water in the blood and then trace it through the brain to find out how much blood reaches different areas of the brain tissue.
Participants will be given low doses of the drug, which will sometimes be substituted for a placebo.
This is so scientists can compare how much blood reaches the brain with and without the drug.
People who have already been diagnosed with dementia will not be able to take part, as scientists say the aim is to test if the drug could be used to prevent the onset of dementia rather than treat it once it has developed.
Lead researcher Dr Atticus Hainsworth, of St George’s, University of London, said: ‘My colleagues and I are very enthusiastic about this trans-Atlantic initiative as there are too few drugs in the medicine cupboard for dementia.
‘We want to know whether a well-known, well-tolerated drug can be used to combat dementia, which has been called the twenty first century plague.
‘The drug tadalafil is widely used to increase blood flow in penile tissue. Now we’re asking whether it can do the same for another vital organ – the brain.’
Dr Doug Brown, of Alzheimer’s Society, added: ‘Drug development can take decades and sadly, the path towards developing dementia treatments over the past decade is littered with drugs that have failed in clinical trials.
‘As we learn more about the causes of dementia and its links to other conditions, there is hope that treatments we routinely use for other diseases may also work for people with dementia.
‘These incredibly exciting studies could see existing treatments turned into drugs for the most common forms of dementia in a fraction of the time and at a fraction of the cost of developing new drugs from scratch.
‘By next year 850,000 people in the UK will have dementia and we owe it to them to do everything we can to develop better treatments and ultimately find a cure. Research like this is a huge part of that goal.’
Alzheimer’s Society is also funding research exploring whether an experimental diabetes drug could help reverse the onset of Alzheimer’s disease.
Professor Christian Holscher, of Lancaster University, has previously shown that diabetes drug Liraglutide could reverse memory loss and the build-up of plaques in the brain which lead to Alzheimer’s.
The new study will follow up on this work.
