{"id":17438,"date":"2017-03-06T07:50:52","date_gmt":"2017-03-06T14:50:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.accessrx.com\/blog\/?p=17438"},"modified":"2018-11-13T13:49:34","modified_gmt":"2018-11-13T13:49:34","slug":"can-viagra-help-the-brain-heal-itself","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.edrugstore.com\/blog\/erectile-dysfunction\/can-viagra-help-the-brain-heal-itself\/","title":{"rendered":"Can Viagra Help the Brain Heal Itself?"},"content":{"rendered":"

B<\/span>y improving blood flow, Viagra and the other PDE5 inhibitors may be able to help undo some of the damage done by stroke or other injuries to the brain. Preliminary research is promising. <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Viagra isn’t just for erectile dysfunction\u00a0anymore.<\/p>\n

In fact, sildenafil citrate, the active ingredient in Pfizer’s little blue pill, has been found to have a number of health benefits unrelated to sexual dysfunction. Most, if not all, of these benefits stem from the chemical compound’s ability to improve blood flow, if only on a short-term basis.<\/p>\n

Under the brand name Revatio, also marketed by Pfizer, sildenafil citrate treats pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), a condition in which a form of high blood pressure targets the arteries in your lungs and the right side of your heart.<\/p>\n

Although the condition is incurable in at least some of its forms, sildenafil citrate can significantly relieve the symptoms of PAH.<\/p>\n

Used to Treat a Variety of Ills<\/h3>\n

The drug has also shown potential in the treatment of Raynaud’s disease, a rare disorder of the blood vessels that causes fingers and toes to feel abnormally cold and numb when exposed to cold temperatures and stress.<\/p>\n

In addition, the drug, when combined with other cancer-fighting drugs, appears to help the body’s immune system fight off certain cancers. And ongoing studies are exploring sildenafil as a possible treatment for systemic sclerosis and multiple sclerosis.<\/p>\n

For a number of years now, researchers have also been looking into sildenafil’s potential for the treatment of brain-related health problems, particularly as a therapy for stroke recovery as well as a possible way to prevent or at least delay the onset of dementia.<\/p>\n

2002 Animal Study<\/h3>\n
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Most medical research begins with preliminary testing among laboratory animals.\u00a0<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

One of the earliest explorations of sildenafil’s restorative properties after stroke was an animal study published in the November 2002 issue of Stroke<\/em>. The study’s lead author was Michael Chopp, scientific director at Detroit’s Henry Ford Health Sciences Center. In an interview with WebMD.com, Chopp said the study’s findings showed that sildenafil and medications like it create new brain cells in the wake of stroke damage. “And these cells are created in both elderly as well as young subjects,” he said.<\/p>\n

Stroke of ischemic (clot-caused) origin was simulated in laboratory rats by blocking the flow of blood through the animals’ middle cerebral arteries. For a period of seven days beginning two to 24 hours after the simulation of stroke, one group of the animals was given varying doses of sildenafil, while a control group was given plain water.<\/p>\n

Rats treated with the drugs showed significantly improved neurological function, compared with those that got a placebo.<\/p>\n

After 24 days, the animals were euthanized and their brains dissected. Researchers were able to verify that those animals that got sildenafil had developed many more new brain cells than the rats receiving placebo.<\/p>\n

French Study Promising<\/h3>\n

A more recent animal study conducted by French researchers produced results very similar to those from the 2002 study. This later study, published in the March 2014 issue of Stroke<\/em>, looked at the restorative properties of sildenafil in rats in which ischemic stroke had been simulated.<\/p>\n

Researchers found that treatment with sildenafil citrate sharply increased cerebral blood flow and also improved motor locomotion in neonatal rats.<\/p>\n

On the dementia front, researchers at St. George’s University in London have been looking at the potential of PDE5 inhibitors as a therapy for the prevention or delay of vascular dementia. Much of the current research into dementia has been focused on Alzheimer’s disease, which has symptoms that overlap with vascular dementia but stem from different causes.<\/p>\n

Insufficient Blood Flow<\/h3>\n

As its name indicates, vascular dementia is caused by insufficient blood flow to the cognitive centers of the brain. PDE5 inhibitors are the family of drugs prescribed to treat erectile dysfunction and include such specific medications as avanafil, sildenafil, tadalafil, and vardenafil.<\/p>\n

\"Erectile
Research scientists are also exploring the potential of erectile dysfunction drugs as a way to prevent or delay the onset of vascular dementia.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

They are vasodilators that temporarily improve blood flow. The primary cause of ED is insufficient blood flow to the penis.<\/p>\n

The U.K. researchers, led by neuroscientist Atticus Hainsworth, have been treating volunteers with tadalafil, very similar in chemical composition to sildenafil, to see if it improves blood flow to the brain and thus prevents or delays vascular dementia.<\/p>\n

The study participants include both men and women who have displayed symptoms of small vessel disease in the brain but have not yet been diagnosed with vascular cognitive impairment.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Further Studies Anticipated<\/h3>\n

According to Hainsworth, if the current studies confirm that tadalafil improves blood flow to the brain, the research will move into a second phase during which the effect of this improved blood flow on cognition will be more closely evaluated.<\/p>\n

If this article has piqued your interest and you would like to read additional articles of consumer health interest, check out our blog<\/a>.
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By improving blood flow, Viagra and the other PDE5 inhibitors may be able to help undo some of the damage done by stroke or other injuries to the brain. Preliminary research is promising. Viagra isn’t just for erectile dysfunction\u00a0anymore. In fact, sildenafil citrate, the active ingredient in Pfizer’s little blue pill, has been found to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":23719,"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":[20],"tags":[23],"class_list":["post-17438","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-erectile-dysfunction","tag-erectile-dysfunction-2"],"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