VIAGRA has improved the lives of millions of British men battling erectile dysfunction.
But as it turns out, the little blue pill has other health benefits beyond the bedroom – it could one day prevent back pain and fractures in old age.
Viagra could give you a boost beyond the bedroom[/caption]
Scientists from Peking University, in China, found that sildenafil, which is branded as Viagra, helps stem cells turn into osteoblasts, the cells that build bone.
These cells are crucial because the human skeleton rebuilds itself every decade.
But as we age, we lose more bone than we make, raising the risk of painful fractures and brittle-bone disease, osteoporosis.
But slashing the risk of broken bones isn’t the only incredible health benefit of this small but versatile drug, which started life in the 1980s as a heart medication before being discovered to help with erectile dysfunction or ED.
Other research has discovered it could treat lung and heart conditions, speed up recovery from jet lag and even reduce altitude sickness – what a trooper.
Slashes dementia risk
After a decades-long and largely fruitless hunt for drugs to combat Alzheimer’s disease, an unlikely candidate has raised its head: the erectile dysfunction pill Viagra.
University College London experts found men who pop hard-on boosting drugs like Viagra and Cialis were 18 per cent less likely to develop the brain-eating disease compared with those who went without the drugs.
The tablets work by widening blood vessels to improve blood flow to the penis – and could also boost circulation to the brain.
While the findings, published in the journal Neurology last year, were striking, the study was just observational.
This means it can’t prove that ED pills actually protect against Alzheimer’s.
Instead, it’s possible that men who are naturally at lower risk for the disease are simply more likely to take these medications.
Lead author Dr Ruth Brauer at University College London said: “We can’t say that the drugs are responsible, but this does give us food for thought on how we move into the future.
“We now need a proper clinical trial to look at the effects of these drugs on Alzheimer’s in women as well as men.”
Easier to pee
As well as helping men maintain an erection, the little blue pill can also make it easier for men to pee.
Around a third of men aged over 50 suffer from urinary problems, with an enlarged prostate usually the nagging cause.
These can include a weak flow of pee, urine dribbling and the frustrating sensation that the bladder isn’t fully emptied after peeing.
Viagra works by increasing blood flow to the penis, which temporarily relaxes the muscles in the penis.
Dr Irwin Goldstein, from San Diego Sexual Medicine, who has studied Viagra, said this has a side effect of “lessening the grip of the prostate on the urethra”.
He told HealthLine: “The higher grip causes difficulty in urinating.”
Treats pulmonary hypertension
The NHS is already prescribing Viagra to treat pulmonary hypertension, a rare lung condition.
The disease, which affects around one in every 20,000 Brits, happens when blood vessels that supply the lungs (the pulmonary arteries) thicken.
When this happens, it makes it harder for blood to move through them, which causes a rise in blood pressure.
The reduced blood flow makes it harder for the right side of the heart to pump blood through the arteries.
Over time, this can damage the heart and can be fatal if left untreated.
The active drug in brands like Viagra, sildenafil, can come to the rescue by relaxing blood vessels in the chest and lowering blood pressure in the lungs, making it easier for the heart to pump blood, the NHS says.
Improves stroke recovery
As well as treating men with erectile dysfunction, Viagra could also work as a treatment for stroke victims, a US study suggests.
More than 100,000 people suffer a stroke every year in the UK and they’re responsible for over 38,000 deaths, according to Stroke Action.
Meanwhile, there are 1.3million people in the UK who have survived a stroke – many living with disabilities.
These include speech problems, memory issues and hallucinations.
Results published in Stroke in 2003, found the pill could improve memory and movement in rats by helping injured brains develop new cells and blood vessels.
The study’s authors, from Henry Ford Health Sciences Center, thought the drugs could have the same effects on stroke survivors.
Reduces altitude sickness
As well as being kept on people’s bedside tables, the little blue pill could be taken on climbing exhibitions.
German scientists found that sex meds help mountain climbers breathe easier and prevent them from becoming unwell.
The researchers logged the pulmonary artery pressure and oxygen levels of 14 people while in a lab.
The same checks were repeated at the Mount Everest base camp, which is around 17,000ft.
Half had been given sildenafil, while the other half acted as the control group.
Results, published in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine in 2004, show that the drug reduced pressure in the lungs’ blood vessels.
Because of this, climbers could better tolerate hypoxia – low oxygen levels, which causes altitude sickness – while climbing.
Shrinks cancerous tumours
Popping Viagra could also shrink tumours found in the oesophagus, according to new research.
The blue pills shut down enzymes that form protective shields around cancer cells, making it easier for the chemotherapy drugs to blast tumours.
When scientists from the University of Southampton tested the drugs on oesophageal cancer cells in the lab and on mice, they found that chemo was effective in 75 per cent of cases.
For comparison, chemo usually only works in 20 per cent of oesophageal cancer patients, the study, published in Cell Reports Medicine, in 2022 showed.
“Finding a drug, which is already safely prescribed to people every day, could be a great step forward in tackling this hard-to-treat disease,” Professor Tim Underwood, lead author of the study, said.
There are around 7,900 oesophageal cancer deaths in the UK each year – that’s 22 deaths every day.
Those who develop the cancer only have around a 20 per cent chance of survival beyond five years.
Help overcome jet lag faster
The multi-use pills could also be useful for jetsetters who want to overcome jet lag faster, according to another study.
Scientists from Quilmes National University in Argentina, found hamsters that received small doses of sildenafil adjusted more quickly to a six-hour time-zone change than animals who didn’t get the drug.
The research, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in 2007, said a single dose helped the animals adapt up to 50 per cent faster than usual.
An equivalent human dose would be a small fraction of one single pill.
“It’s true that some people will be worried about the – let’s call them side effects,” study author Diego Golombek said.
“But if we eliminate the erectile effects [by using low doses], I don’t see why people wouldn’t consider taking it.”
Current treatments for jet lag involve taking multiple doses of the hormone melatonin over several days, which does not work for all travellers.
Taking a Viagra-like medication would be much simpler, according to Diego, because it would probably involve only a single pill.
