The working mechanism of Viagra – sildenafil or blue pill – is based on relaxing the muscle around the blood vessels so that they can fill with blood more easily and facilitate an erection. In this way, it helps not only patients with erectile dysfunction , which is its best known use, but also patients suffering from diseases such as pulmonary arterial hypertension (PPH). But it could also have more functions, according to a study just published in Cancer Prevention Research , whose authors claim that a small daily dose of Viagra significantly reduces the risk of colorectal cancer or colon cancer , the third leading cause of cancer death in the world , only behind the lung and liver.
The research has been carried out with a model of mice genetically modified to acquire this disease. According to the scientists responsible for the research, belonging to the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology of the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University (United States), Viagra reduces the formation of polyps , a group of cells of abnormal and often asymptomatic growth in the lining of the intestines that can become cancerous.
The new study also points out that the miraculous drug for some increases levels of the cyclic chemical guanosine monophosphate, cyclic GMP , which is involved as a second messenger in cellular signal transmission pathways. GMP is known to affect the intestinal lining or epithelium, partially suppressing excess cell proliferation , leading to increased normal cell differentiation. It also stimulates the natural elimination of abnormal cells, through a process called apoptosis .
The genetically modified mice in the experiment had reduced levels of guanylyl cyclase C (GCC) activating peptides, the main source of GMP. This indicator is also present in human colon cancers. However, existing polyps were not affected, so according to the researchers, the drug could be used as a preventive treatment in high-risk patients. In fact, for these scientists, the first clinical trials with viagra in humans should be carried out with patients considered to be at high risk of colorectal cancer, particularly those who have a family history of risk, who have suffered multiple previous polyps and intestinal inflammation chronic or colitis. The most common diagnostic test to detect this type of cancer is a colonoscopy.
In the photo, Bianca N. Islam and Darren D. Browning, two of the authors of the investigation.
