The active ingredient in Viagra might hold information leading to new treatments for chronic pain, migraines, Alzheimer’s disease, and epilepsy. Brain cells contain active enzymes that help produce nitric oxide, which gives the little blue pill its power, and scientists think this molecule might help brain cells pass signals to on another. BBC tells us:
Researcher Adam Tozer said: “This prompts the question ‘Why is a molecule that can produce penile erections necessary in the brain? It is hoped that this research will go some way to solving the complexity of communication between brain cells, and therefore provide openings for therapeutic strategies against debilitating conditions. It will also help to shed light on communication in the healthy brain and this will enable a greater understanding of how we think.”
The Leicester team will focus on the junctions – or synapses – between cells that enable them to “talk” to each other. They will examine how nitric oxide can influence this communication.There is evidence to suggest that high levels of nitric oxide have a toxic effect, and may trigger serious brain diseases, such as Alzheimer’s. Rebecca Wood, chief executive of the Alzheimer’s Research Trust said: “It will be interesting to find out what nitric oxide does in the brain, and if it has any role in Alzheimer’s.”This study may help researchers understand how the brain works and how nerve cells communicate with each other. Understanding our thought processes and the brain is crucial to understanding and defeating diseases that affect it.”
Still, we have to wonder about which possible side effects of treatment with nitric oxide might, er, pop up.
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Image: flickr /
June 27th, 2009 at 12:59 pm
Isn’t Viagra used for instant erections?
June 27th, 2009 at 1:49 pm
I deal with moderate to severe chronic pain and would love to find a non-narcotic way to treat it. If Viagra can help Alzheimer’s, migraines, chronic pain, and epilepsy as well as ED then perhaps it will be the little blue pill that saved the world.
June 27th, 2009 at 3:23 pm
QUASAR: It’s not for instant erections. It makes it easier to get and maintain erections.
June 27th, 2009 at 3:54 pm
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June 27th, 2009 at 4:17 pm
@ John
It makes it easier to get and maintain erections.
Exactly.
June 28th, 2009 at 7:42 am
Great, now I’ll get spam about curing my Alzheimer’s
June 28th, 2009 at 1:00 pm
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July 13th, 2009 at 11:22 am
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September 12th, 2009 at 12:24 pm
Ohhh.. Perfect job ! thanks a lot.
November 3rd, 2009 at 11:03 am
It is a disease that attacks the brain and causes problems of memory, thought and conduct. This disease gets worse with time. In his first stage, the people express frustrations by the difficulty to formulate and to express their thoughts. Others of the first symptoms are: the lost one of the memory that affects the abilities in the work; difficulty in the execution of daily tasks, difficulty in the learning of new tasks; lost of the sense of the time and problems with the language.
Alzheimer Is a disease that attacks the brain is progressive and degenerative cause problems of memory, thought and conduct. It affects in the attention, decision making, judgment, language and personality. This disease gets worse with time. In addition to the disease of Alzheimer, there are other types of dementia, including vascular dementia (cerebral paralysis), dementia with bodies of Lewy, disease of Pick and others this indicated findrxonline in article. Different types from dementia require different treatments.