Beyond treating erectile dysfunction in males, sildenafil, better known by the brand name Viagra, can also help people avoid memory-related issues. A new study discovered that the medication improves blood vessel function and cerebral blood flow in people who are susceptible to vascular dementia.
Cognitive abilities including memory, reasoning, planning, and judgment are all impacted by vascular dementia. Reduced blood flow to the brain causes brain tissue destruction, which leads to this kind of dementia.
An important development in the fight against dementia has been made by researchers at the University of Oxford, whose findings were published in the journal Circulation Research.
This is the first trial to show that sildenafil gets into the brain blood vessels in people with this condition, improving blood flow and how responsive these blood vessels are. The most prevalent cause of vascular dementia is chronic damage to the brain's tiny blood arteries, which is linked to these two important variables. This indicates that this widely accessible, well-tolerated medication may be used to prevent dementia; however, larger trials are required to confirm this.
Dr. Alastair Webb, Associate Professor, Oxford University, Wolfson Centre for Prevention of Stroke and Dementia
This research is significant because it has the potential to revolutionize the prevention and treatment of vascular dementia, for which there are now no effective treatments. Not only is chronic brain damage to the brain's small blood arteries the primary cause of vascular dementia, but it also plays a role in 30% of strokes and 80% of brain bleeds. The results of this experiment are especially important because high blood pressure, decreased blood flow to the brain, and altered blood vessel function exacerbate these diseases.
Vascular cognitive impairment in India' is a study that found that there is a significantly high burden of vascular contributing to cognitive impairment and dementia in India. In India, there are an estimated 5.3 million dementia patients, of whom around 40% are thought to have vascular dementia.
The main risk factors for vascular dementia, according to Dr. Manjari Tripathi, chairman of AIIMS' neurology department, include high blood pressure, smoking, diabetes, hypertension, obesity, obstructive sleep apnea, and atherosclerosis. Vascular dementia, she noted, could show up in a variety of ways. One kind is known as multi-infarct dementia (MID), which results from several little strokes that cause brain damage. Another kind is known as strategic infarct dementia, which is characterized by dementia even in the presence of a single infarct in a critical brain location, such as the anterior nucleus of the thalamus.
"All ages are susceptible to strokes. The cognitive deficits brought on by a stroke—such as reduced reasoning, logical thinking, attention, and judgment—are frequently more severe than those shown in Alzheimer's disease. Regardless of the patient's age, these cognitive abnormalities might have an abrupt and severe onset. Although the progression of Alzheimer's disease is usually gradual, a stroke can have an immediate and significant effect on cognitive abilities."
Dr. Manjari Tripathi, Chairman of AIIMS' Neurology Department
Larger-scale trials are needed to validate these results and investigate sildenafil's ability to prevent vascular dementia more broadly.
(Input from various sources)
(Rehash/Priyanka Pandey/MSM)
