compared to placebo," Dr. Brown says.
at Albert Einstein College of Medicine,
Viagra Improves
Insulin
Sensitivity in
Those with
Prediabetes
Written by Kathleen Doheny
With commentary by study lead author
Nancy J. Brown, MD, professor of
medicine and pharmacology at Vanderbilt
University School of Medicine.
Viagra, a drug better known for its ability
to improve men's erections, can also help
improve insulin sensitivity in those who
have prediabetes, potentially helping to
delay or avoid the onset of type 2
diabetes, according to new research.
Researchers at Vanderbilt University
School of Medicine looked at how
sildenafil (Viagra) affected insulin
sensitivity compared with placebo, says
study leader Nancy J. Brown,
MD, professor of medicine and
pharmacology.
Her team randomly assigned 21 men and
women to take sildenafil, 25 milligrams
three times a day, and 21 others to take a
placebo pill. Neither group knew which
they were taking during the three-month
regimen.
The average age in both groups was about
50. The average body mass index (BMI)
was about 36, considered obese.
Those who took the sildenafil ''had a 20%
improvement in insulin sensitivity
The more insulin sensitivity a person has,
the less insulin is needed to lower blood
New York, who reviewed the findings.
sugar levels. If a person has insulin
resistance, their body can't make enough
However, the effect on insulin sensitivity
was minimal, in his view. "I don't think it is
insulin to clear blood sugar, or it doesn't
work well enough to lower the sugar.
going to be common [to use sildenafil] in
the clinical arena," he says, unless a drug
company steps in to develop a similar drug
The research is published online Nov. 18
more specifically designed to affect
peripheral tissues.
in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology &
Metabolism. However, Dr. Brown says, some existing
In the U.S., 29 million people have type 2 drugs to prevent diabetes may have
diabetes, according to the Endocrine negative effects on the heart, or not be
Society. About 3 in 10 people have good for patients with kidney disease, so
prediabetes, in which the blood sugar more and alternative therapies are
levels are high but not high enough to be needed. She plans to continue to research
diagnosed as diabetes. the area.
"We know a percentage
[with prediabetes] go on to develop
Last updated on 11/23/2015
diabetes," Dr. Brown says. "The gold
standard to preventing that is diet and
exercise," Dr. Brown says. Yet, many
patients find it difficult to keep up with a
diet and exercise program, or to keep off
the weight once they have lost it, and
need more help, she says.
Drugs like sildenafil may help, she says. It
works by inhibiting an enzyme that
normally breaks down a chemical, cGMP,
to relax the blood vessel. The chemical
cGMP increases insulin sensitivity in
muscle, according to the researchers.
Before doing the study, Dr. Brown says,
the research team thought the drug would
affect insulin secretion in response to
glucose. "We found we were affecting
insulin sensitivity," she says, and that was
consistent with her previous research in
animals. The researchers evaluated the
effects of the drug
and placebo by giving an infusion of
glucose and then measuring the amount
of insulin released.
They did not ask the men about any
changes in erections, Dr. Brown said. That
was to keep the study ''blinded,'' with
neither group knowing if they were on the
drug or the placebo.
The researchers also took urine samples
and found that those on the drug had
lower levels of the substance albumin in
the urine, which reflects better kidney
health, Dr. Brown says.
Viagra & Insulin: Perspective
The study was small, but well done, says
Joel Zonszein, MD, director of the Clinical
Diabetes Center at Montefiore Medical
Center and professor of clinical medicine 68