Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Viagra Is Linked to Almost 70% Lower Risk of Alzheimer's

sciencealert.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

31–40 of 130 posts

Re: Viagra Is Linked to Almost 70% Lower Risk of Alzheimer's

#31

Post by david-gpu »

dzonga wrote: post #29

crazy how a medicine went from treating heart disease to ed now to treating alzheimer's. wish more drugs were like this these days, but most modern drugs hardly work

Presumably the only old drugs still in use are the ones that were particularly effective. Old but ineffective drugs will over time be naturally replaced and forgotten.

It's the same sort of reasoning why ageless musical hits are still enjoyed today. The musical hits that aged poorly have been forgotten over time.

It's not that old stuff was better, it's that modern stuff hasn't had enough time for the crap to be forgotten.

Re: Viagra Is Linked to Almost 70% Lower Risk of Alzheimer's

#32

Post by amluto »

david-gpu wrote: post #31
dzonga wrote: post #29

crazy how a medicine went from treating heart disease to ed now to treating alzheimer's. wish more drugs were like this these days, but most modern drugs hardly work

Presumably the only old drugs still in use are the ones that were particularly effective. Old but ineffective drugs will over time be naturally replaced and forgotten. It's the same sort of reasoning why ageless musical hits are still enjoyed today. The musical hits that aged poorly have been forgotten over time. It's not that old stuff was better, it's that modern stuff hasn't had enough time for the crap to be forg…

cough phenylephrine. Old, widely used, and most studies suggest that it’s essentially completely useless for its intended purpose.

Re: Viagra Is Linked to Almost 70% Lower Risk of Alzheimer's

#33

Post by WesolyKubeczek »

ratsforhorses wrote: post #23
yellow_lead wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well it does get your heart rate up

So does masturbation.... could it be the exchange of molecules, a touch of human warmth or that feeling of contentment/happiness which is more important?

Not really, unless you both pile down on one another like logs and wait for an earthquake. Good sex with a person is quite a workout in comparison, maybe you should reevaluate your practices.

Re: Viagra Is Linked to Almost 70% Lower Risk of Alzheimer's

#35

Post by fer »

OJFord wrote: post #24
fer wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That was actually my first thought. The link talks about 70% decrease of Alzheimer risk over a 6 year period of Viagra use (vs lack thereof). But early Alzheimer signs have been shown to appear up to 18 years before diagnosis. Memory and thinking tests for these signs from 13 to 18 years before diagnosis show 85% higher risk in those failing. [0] So 6 years is actually a very short window to claim causality, especial…

> So 6 years is actually a very short window to claim causality They're not claiming causality.

Nor I said they did.

Re: Viagra Is Linked to Almost 70% Lower Risk of Alzheimer's

#37

Post by oliwarner »

Correlation not [necessarily] causation!

Lots of people suggesting having sex might be a prophylactic but also consider that a lower "sex drive" might also be a factor here.

We don't know because we're looking at insurance claim data. You only see links. And only in people with insurance! You have to go much further to show causation.

Re: Viagra Is Linked to Almost 70% Lower Risk of Alzheimer's

#38

Post by yosito »

yellow_lead wrote: post #20
d--b wrote: post #19

Is it just me or is there a sub text here that says: “maybe it’s not the drug, maybe a good shag every now and then does it, and viagra consumption is a good proxy for knowing that”?

Well it does get your heart rate up

According to my Garmin watch, sex with my girlfriend only gets my heart rate into the mid 90s, the same as a walk around the block.

The significance of that data is up for interpretation, but I'm skeptical that sex is really a significant cardio activity.

Re: Viagra Is Linked to Almost 70% Lower Risk of Alzheimer's

#40

Post by danbmil99 »

yosito wrote: post #38
yellow_lead wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well it does get your heart rate up

According to my Garmin watch, sex with my girlfriend only gets my heart rate into the mid 90s, the same as a walk around the block. The significance of that data is up for interpretation, but I'm skeptical that sex is really a significant cardio activity.

Um, it probably depends on how you do it.
Post reply on HN