72 comments

  • woliveirajr 2 days ago ago

    Sildenafil [0] was synthesized to treat high blood pressure. Erectile disfunction was a side effect that raised much more interest.

    Tadalafil [1] followed the path of Sildenafil about the phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE5) enzyme inhibitor.

    Help to live longer was the main objective since the beginning.

    [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sildenafil#History [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tadalafil#History

    • joezydeco a day ago ago

      I invested heavily in ICOS when they launched, they had Bill Gates money and were looking for ways to extend lifespans and solve inflammation.

      And all we got was another boner pill.

      • fny a day ago ago

        Lifespans and inflammation are ironically harder problems.

        • mykowebhn a day ago ago

          Yes, but we don't want medical science to go soft by focusing on the easy problems.

          • miguelxpn a day ago ago

            But the whole point of those pills is that it didn't go soft anymore!

            • butvacuum a day ago ago

              thus this inuendo thread ended prematurely.

      • giantg2 a day ago ago

        Quanity and/or quality of sex shows correlation with longer lifespan. Maybe this is a roundabout way to get there...

        • joezydeco a day ago ago

          I do admire the fact that someone with a sense of humor at ICOS named the molecule TADA-lafil.

        • croemer a day ago ago

          Healthy people have more sex I guess?

      • VyseofArcadia a day ago ago

        Well they extended something at least.

      • m463 a day ago ago

        some lifespans are shorter when insemination never occurs.

      • fragmede a day ago ago

        During your extended lifetime, wouldn't you like to be able to have a boner, though?

        • NordStreamYacht a day ago ago

          Picasso managed it all without these meds.

          • fragmede a day ago ago

            If you're saying it's easy, just be as good as Picasso, imma be real with you and say I'm not as good as Picasso.

  • Modified3019 a day ago ago

    FYI, before reaching for PDE5 inhibitors, please be aware that these seem to be ototoxic in some way. Common side effects are tinnitus and to a lesser extent hearing loss.

    When taking these, you should track if there are changes to your hearing and cease immediately if you notice something. The damage seems cumulative and based on dose, and may resolve quickly, over months, or not at all. You should also look into any other medicines you take to see if they are ototoxic.

    • raspasov a day ago ago

      Study link and/or source?

    • Noaidi a day ago ago

      Fascinating! I have non-hearing damage induced Tinnitus and Bipolar Disorder and have been interesting in my PDE genetics for sometime as a link to my issues. It seems I have a natural inhibition of many PDE genes (PDE4B specifically, but I have some less studied changes in my PDE5A genetics which suggests an inhibition there as well).

      Sildenafil has been know to make BP people relapse in one case...

      https://academic.oup.com/ijnp/article/7/4/525/707950?login=f...

      And also investigated with some mood issues...

      https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00213-023-06361-3

      Zinc and Magnesium are cofactors for all the PDE genes and those have helped me, specifically the zinc.

      I have a feeling that low GTP is causing issues in ED since Cyclic GMP is made from GTP.

      • Modified3019 a day ago ago

        That’s really interesting, I’d never hear of this before and wouldn’t have ever considered there to be a relationship. Thanks for bringing it up.

  • miiiiiike a day ago ago

    Check your blood pressure regularly.

    Every time I read about a drug reducing dementia risk or increasing longevity I look it up to see if it lowers blood pressure. Never fails.

    Cialis does.

    • toasty228 a day ago ago

      > Check your blood pressure regularly.

      Also avoid things that increase blood pressure and do more thing that improve your cardiovascular system. No amount of drug will make up for decades of abuse

      • larodi a day ago ago

        such as alcochol of course

    • exhilaration a day ago ago

      Very interesting. Since you've spent some time thinking about it, what's your hypothesis of the connection between high blood pressure and dementia? Any interesting links you could share?

      Maybe high blood pressure causing more pressure in the blood vessels of the brain, leading to a lifetime or decades of cumulative damage?

      • Qem a day ago ago

        Microstrokes, that affect capillary vessels in the brain, don't cause short term acute loss of function, but have a cummulative impact over time?

    • m463 a day ago ago

      I wonder if flomax (tamsulosin) figures into all this because lowered blood pressure can be a side effect.

  • jurip a day ago ago

    There was also just last week this study, which indicated a link to a higher risk of glaucoma: https://www.thepharmacist.co.uk/clinical/mens-health-clinica...

  • francisofascii a day ago ago

    Suprised this article doesn't mention nitric oxide or vasodilation? Is that how it works. It boosts nitric oxide signaling, acts as a vasodilator, and improves endothelial function. Beet juice, exercise, and eating nitrate-rich vegetables are some non-pharmaceutical ways to have a similar effect.

    • josh-wrale a day ago ago

      I thought nitrates were dangerous with regard to cancer. (?)

      • rkallos a day ago ago

        They can be when they are converted into nitrosamines, which appears to happen in the absence of plants. In the presence of phytonutrients, nitrates are converted to nitrites, which have several health benefits. In the absence of phytonutrients, nitrates can be converted into nitrosamines, which are a potent carcinogen.

        See: https://nutritionfacts.org/topics/nitrates/

        • josh-wrale a day ago ago

          Thanks. I'm looking at the articles in these replies. I see that maybe I should be taking Vitamin C and E to help balance things.

          • temp0826 a day ago ago

            Or eat more plants!

      • mikestew a day ago ago

        Not quite the same thing despite sounding very similar: https://www.mdanderson.org/cancerwise/what-to-know-about-foo...

        (And good gracious, HN, how about answering the person’s question instead of downvoting it?)

      • vonneumannstan a day ago ago

        Not sure what the parent comment is referring to exactly or if they are also conflating things but:

        Nitric Oxide = NO

        is not the same as common carcinogens in foods like

        Sodium Nitrite = NaNO2 or Potassium Nitrate = KNO3

    • astura a day ago ago

      >Beet juice, exercise, and eating nitrate-rich vegetables are some non-pharmaceutical ways to have a similar effect.

      Add deep breathing to that list too, believe it or not!

  • comrade1234 2 days ago ago

    The weirdest thing I read about was weightlifters taking viagra to increase their blood flow when working out at the gym. Hopefully they shower at home.

    • throwawaytea a day ago ago

      Just an FYI, these drugs don't actually cause erections or sexual excitement. They simply make erections easier.

      Now, if someon is mildly excited by other bodybuilders but usually not enough to make it known, yes Cialis could cause 'movement' as George Costanza put it.

      But if you're not into what's in front of you, Cialis isn't going to change anything.

      • KellyCriterion a day ago ago

        ...then please throw a 20mg Taladafil and go to the Gym - good luck! :-D LOL

        • KellyCriterion a day ago ago

          For all the downvoters:

          While Taladafil does not have a psychotropic effet (like Extacy, MDMA etc.), just the friction of your sport clothes may be a problem for your "experience", and visiting the sauna afterwards will be very likely somehow problematic if sauna guests match your preferences, to put it in a diplomatic way ;-)

          • bushwart a day ago ago

            You shouldn't be creepily ogling the gym baddies anyway no matter what you're on. Tadalafil is perfectly fine in the gym or the sauna as long as you control where your attention goes.

            • KellyCriterion a day ago ago

              Do not know if everyone got the verbal mixture message: Taladafil is not for going to the Gym, but for having a great time with your partner - if you go to the Gym while in the timewindow, you might have some issues due to the effect of it ;-)

              My sentence was never about "use Taladafil to get stronger in the Gym" but more about "do not drop it before you are going to the Gym" ;-)

              Apart from that: Effects after Taladafil on your "back pain reception" my be included, as it has an effect on especially skeleton muscles etc.

            • swat535 a day ago ago

              I have to take Tadalafil daily as my urologist prescribed it and have no issues going to the gym. I lift weights and exercise regularly.

              Another thing is that overtime your body adjusts to the side effects. I used to get headaches or stuffy nose, those are gone now.

              In any case, always take medication under the guidance of a doctor and don't mess with the dosage!

            • warpspin a day ago ago

              If you're doing the gym right, you don't have the energy to ogle anyone, anyway.

    • GenerWork a day ago ago

      >weightlifters taking viagra to increase their blood flow when working out at the gym

      The weightlifting community moved off of Viagra years ago due to Cialis having a much longer half life.

    • mikestew a day ago ago

      It’s the hardcore version of beet juice powder, which athletes often take to…increase blood flow. As a user, I can’t say whether it helps with Viagra’s advertised purpose.

    • SoftTalker a day ago ago

      L-Citrulline supplements are also commonly used.

      https://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/l-citrulline#uses

    • cgh a day ago ago

      Cialis is most common and it is typically low dose, like 5mg/day. Can still provoke unwanted “movement” in a gym environment however.

    • undefined a day ago ago
      [deleted]
    • debo_ a day ago ago

      If that's the weirdest thing you've heard of weightlifters doing, you are lucky.

      • WithinReason a day ago ago

        what would be an unlucky thing to hear?

        • cgh a day ago ago

          Taking Arimidex (breast cancer treatment drug) to control estrogen levels.

          • r0me1 a day ago ago

            cancer is a big word, arimidex is just an aromatase inhibitor that prevents androgens from turning into estrogen, that also helps prevent spread of some types of cancer. Amazon is full of turkey tail supplements, that's also a prescription cancer medicine in Japan

  • schrectacular a day ago ago

    Maybe not longer, but definitely harder.

  • karakoram a day ago ago

    Correct me if I am wrong but I think marathon runners take Cialis for something too.

    • mikestew a day ago ago

      Serious lifelong runner here, and it’s news to me. OTOH, it may be an influencer bro-science thing that I’ve successfully ignored.

      OTOOH, I take beet juice powder, which is to increase blood flow pre-run, so I would not be surprised if folks “leveled up” to a pharmaceutical.

  • jacknews 2 days ago ago

    Maybe the extra sex is the main benefit?

  • stronglikedan a day ago ago

    I hope so, since I take it daily for my enlarged prostate.

  • hulitu a day ago ago

    What's wrong with Viagra ?

  • khalic a day ago ago

    As usual, without double blind studies, this is playing with fire… maybe the people taking it have better health because of the extra exercise that goes with an active sex life.

    • dpark a day ago ago

      I would imagine the sex itself isn’t super relevant in terms of exercise. But people who seek out medical treatment (or enhancement) likely take better care of themselves in general.

      But I would be surprised if there were not a measurable increase in health markers for men who take Cialis. Pretty much any drug that reduces blood pressure is going to have a positive effect on longevity for the average male population (but not the sub-population who have low blood pressure).

      • LorenPechtel a day ago ago

        Sex probably isn't that relevant--but being able to have sex says something about your health.

        Thus this very well might be a yardstick, not an actual benefit.

      • astura a day ago ago

        >people who seek out medical treatment (or enhancement) likely take better care of themselves in general.

        That was immediately my thought as well, the population of men who seek out ED medications have to be very distinctly different than the population of men in general.