{"id":10792,"date":"2016-08-24T14:14:01","date_gmt":"2016-08-24T14:14:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.viamedic.com\/blog\/?p=2994"},"modified":"2018-12-12T14:09:38","modified_gmt":"2018-12-12T14:09:38","slug":"scientistsed-drugs-benefits-extend-to-dementia-too","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.edrugstore.com\/blog\/current-health-news\/scientistsed-drugs-benefits-extend-to-dementia-too\/","title":{"rendered":"Scientists: ED Drug’s Benefits Extend to Dementia, Too"},"content":{"rendered":"

B<\/span>ritish researchers find evidence that tadalafil, the active ingredient in Cialis, might help to prevent vascular dementia. That form of dementia is second only to Alzheimer’s in terms of the number of patients affected.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

British researchers have uncovered promising preliminary evidence<\/a> that tadalafil, the active ingredient in the erectile dysfunction drug Cialis, may someday play a key role in preventing vascular dementia, one of the most common forms of this serious cognitive disorder.<\/p>\n

As its name indicates, vascular dementia<\/a> is associated with diminished blood flow to the brain. Like other forms of dementia, its primary symptoms are a marked decline in memory and other cognitive skills. Dementia is not actually a disease itself but rather a collection of symptoms affecting a patient’s cognitive abilities.<\/p>\n

Second Only to Alzheimer’s<\/h3>\n

According to the Alzheimer’s Association, a Chicago-based nonprofit dedicated to wiping out Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia, vascular dementia is the second most common form of dementia after Alzheimer’s. The association notes that vascular dementia often occurs after a stroke, which interferes with blood flow to the brain. It should be noted here that not all stroke victims develop vascular dementia. And absent a full-blown stroke, the condition can develop when blood flow to the brain becomes compromised as a result of chronic hypertension, atherosclerosis (plaque buildup), or endothelial dysfunction (abnormal functioning in the lining of blood vessels).<\/p>\n

For the scientists exploring tadalafil’s possible benefits in the treatment of vascular dementia, the choice was a logical one because tadalafil treats vascular-related erectile dysfunction by temporarily improving blood flow to the penis. Actually, insufficient blood flow to the penis accounts for the vast majority of all erectile dysfunction, with only 10 to 20 percent of ED traceable to psychological causes. It was only a few decades back that medical science began to recognize that impotence was primarily physiological in origin. Prior to that men with erection problems were often told by medical professionals that the problems were mostly in their heads.<\/p>\n

Active Ingredient in Cialis<\/h3>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Tadalfil is the active ingredient in Cialis.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As previously noted, tadalafil is the active ingredient in Cialis, one of the top-selling ED drugs on the market worldwide. It belongs to a family of medications known collectively as PDE5 inhibitors, so called for their ability to temporarily disable an enzyme known as phosphodiesterase-5 that tends to interfere with optimal blood flow.<\/p>\n

The first in this family of drugs was Viagra, which has as its active ingredient a compound known as sildenafil citrate. First brought to market in 1998, Viagra has been followed by a handful of similar drugs, including Levitra (vardenafil hydrochloride), Cialis (tadalafil), Staxyn (vardenafil hydrochloride), and Stendra (avanafil). Although all are virtually identical in the way they work, each has its own unique chemical structure. Some men with ED find that while all the drugs produce the desired results, one may be somewhat quicker-acting or have fewer side effects than the others.<\/p>\n

Other ED Drugs Might Work<\/h3>\n

Although medical researchers at St. George’s University in London selected tadalafil for their study into the drug’s effects on vascular dementia, it’s possible that other drugs in the PDE5 inhibitors family might also prove useful as a weapon against this form of dementia.<\/p>\n

Now in its first phase, the British study is ongoing. Researchers have already conducted trials on 24 study participants in an attempt to confirm that tadalafil does indeed improve blood flow to the brain. Upcoming are similar trials with an additional 30 participants. In all these early experiments, researchers are focusing primarily on the degree to which tadalafil increases blood flow to the brain and are using high-tech scanners to measure the degree to which blood flow improves when tadalafil is taken.<\/p>\n

Second Phase of the Study<\/h3>\n

If the study’s first phase shows conclusively that tadalafil’s ability to increase blood flow to the male pelvic region can be replicated in patients with impaired blood flow to the brain, researchers will launch the study’s second phase to determine how, if at all, this increased blood flow improves cognitive skills in study participants.<\/p>\n

\"Dementia\"
Dementia is not a disease itself but rather a collection of symptoms associated with a marked decline in cognitive function.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

At the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in Toronto in July 2016, neuroscientist Atticus Hainsworth, lead researcher in the tadalafil study, said, “This initiative is to use existing medicines, which are well understood and safe, and to see whether we can use them for a different purpose.” He went on to emphasize that the study’s primary goal at this point is to establish clearly whether tadalafil increases blood flow to the brain. He pointed out that while the drug is essentially safe and is widely used in the age group under study, his research team wants to find optimal dosage levels that produce the desired results with minimal adverse side effects. One of the big pluses of tadalafil, he said, is the fact that drug remains active in the blood stream for 24 hours, meaning that only one pill a day would be sufficient to get the job done.<\/p>\n

Effects on Mental Function<\/h3>\n

Looking ahead beyond the study’s first phase and assuming that it confirms tadalafil improves blood flow to the brain, his research team will seek to determine “whether mental function is maintained for longer if people take this drug for six months. We hope it would either prevent or slow down vascular dementia.”<\/p>\n

When used to overcome the symptoms of erectile dysfunction, tadalafil works by temporarily deactivating the PDE5 enzyme, which breaks down a substance known as cyclic guanosine monophosphate, or cGMP. The role of cGMP in optimizing blood flow is central, because it triggers the smooth muscles lining arteries to relax and dilate, thus facilitating stronger blood flow.<\/p>\n

How ED Drugs Work<\/h3>\n

In men who have no vascular problems, the quantities of cGMP produced are sufficient to withstand the effects of the PDE5 enzyme. As the enzyme breaks down some cGMP, more is produced to keep blood vessels dilated and blood flow strong. However, in men whose vascular systems have been impaired by years of smoking, atherosclerosis, or diabetes, among other causes, taking the PDE5 enzyme out of action temporarily is enough to allow them to get and keep an erection strong enough for sexual intercourse.<\/p>\n

As previously noted, tadalafil is the active ingredient in the popular ED drug Cialis, which is available in two different formulations. One is known as Cialis for daily use and must be taken daily in order to allow men who take it to achieve erection whenever the need arises. Another stronger formulation of tadalafil is marketed as Cialis on demand, and its duration of action can last for up to 36 hours, longer than any other ED medication now on the market.<\/p>\n

Study’s Financial Supporters<\/h3>\n

Jointly funding the British study are New York-based Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation and the United Kingdom’s Alzheimer’s Society. James Pickett, head of the Alzheimer’s Society research and development team, said that one of the society’s priorities is the testing of medications already approved for use in the treatment of other conditions. Such research, he noted, “could allow us to shortcut the 15 years or so needed to develop a new dementia drug from scratch.”<\/p>\n

If you would like to read additional articles about alternative uses for popular erectile dysfunction drugs, as well as other articles of interest to health consumers, check out our blog<\/a>.\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

British researchers find evidence that tadalafil, the active ingredient in Cialis, might help to prevent vascular dementia. That form of dementia is second only to Alzheimer’s in terms of the number of patients affected. British researchers have uncovered promising preliminary evidence that tadalafil, the active ingredient in the erectile dysfunction drug Cialis, may someday play […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":25517,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_autoblog_aioseo_focus_keyphrase":"","_autoblog_aioseo_title":"","_autoblog_aioseo_description":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10792","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-current-health-news"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t