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The erectile dysfunction drug Viagra is seen as a miracle drug in the eyes of those who would be faced with a limp future otherwise, but more and more the little blue pill is showing signs of being a wonder drug in other ways.
Early last month there was a report of a study done in the United States suggesting that Viagra may be useful in treating dementia associated with Alzheimer’s disease, and there’s now a report from the United Kingdom of a nurse who spent 28 days in a Covid-19 coma fighting for her life being saved after being given large doses of Viagra, also known as sildenafil, as part of an experimental treatment regime.
Monica Almeida, 37, was admitted to the hospital on November 9 after testing positive for coronavirus on October 31, the Daily Mail reported. She would soon be moved to intensive care, before her doctors put her into an induced coma on November 16.
A specialist respiratory nurse and mother of two sons, aged nine and 14, Almeida is also asthmatic and she had received two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, according to the British tabloid. She said doctors were just days away from turning off her ventilator when her condition started to improve — Almeida woke up on December 14.
More from The Daily Mail:
When she woke up doctors at Lincoln County Hospital revealed they had given her a large dose of [Viagra] as part of an experimental treatment regime that she agreed to before going into a coma.
The erectile dysfunction drug enables greater blood flow to all areas of the body by relaxing the walls of blood vessels, and Mrs Almeida says it caused her condition to improve in just a week and the level of oxygen she needed to drop by half as it opened up her airways.
Looking back on the incident, Almeida could appreciate the humor behind her recovery.
“I had a little joke with the consultant after I came round because I knew him,” she told the Sun. “He told me it was the Viagra, I laughed and thought he was joking, but he said ‘no, really, you’ve had a large dose of Viagra.'”
“It was my little Christmas miracle,” Almeida said.
And make no mistake, she is certain that the drug was the difference maker.
“It was definitely the Viagra that saved me,” the nurse insisted. “Within 48 hours it opened up my airwaves and my lungs started to respond. If you think how the drug works, it expands your blood vessels. I have asthma and my air sacks needed a little help.”
Saying that she “never expected at 37 years of age to get as ill as I did,” Almeida still stands by the vaccines.
“There are people out there saying the vaccine has killed people,” she said. “I’m not denying there are people who react and get poorly with the vaccine, but when we look at the amount of deaths we have in unvaccinated people there is a big message there to have your jab.”
The BBC reported in early December on a study in Cleveland that suggested Viagra targets some of the proteins that accumulate in the type of dementia associated with Alzheimer’s.
Analyzing a database of 7 million patients, the Cleveland team found men who were on the drug had a lower risk of Alzheimer’s, the BBC noted, adding that sildenafil is already being used in men and women for a lung condition called pulmonary hypertension.
Encouraged by the early findings, lead investigator Dr Feixiong Cheng said a more thorough study is needed.
“Because our findings only establish an association between sildenafil use and reduced incidence of Alzheimer’s disease, we are now planning a mechanistic trial and a phase II randomized clinical trial to test causality and confirm sildenafil’s clinical benefits for Alzheimer’s patients,” Cheng said.
Writers and editors can be contacted at [email protected] with feedback, tips, or corrections.
Tom Tillison grew up in Maryland before moving to Central Florida as a young teen. It is in the Sunshine State that he honed both his passion for politics and his writing skills. Tillison also contributes to BizPac Review.
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