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Online clinics and influencers are promoting Cialis as a longevity drug (npr.org)
woliveirajr 1 days 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 1 days 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 1 days ago [-]
Lifespans and inflammation are ironically harder problems.
mykowebhn 1 days ago [-]
Yes, but we don't want medical science to go soft by focusing on the easy problems.
miguelxpn 1 days ago [-]
But the whole point of those pills is that it didn't go soft anymore!
butvacuum 1 days ago [-]
thus this inuendo thread ended prematurely.
giantg2 1 days ago [-]
Quanity and/or quality of sex shows correlation with longer lifespan. Maybe this is a roundabout way to get there...
joezydeco 1 days ago [-]
I do admire the fact that someone with a sense of humor at ICOS named the molecule TADA-lafil.
croemer 1 days ago [-]
Healthy people have more sex I guess?
VyseofArcadia 1 days ago [-]
Well they extended something at least.
m463 1 days ago [-]
some lifespans are shorter when insemination never occurs.
fragmede 1 days ago [-]
During your extended lifetime, wouldn't you like to be able to have a boner, though?
NordStreamYacht 1 days ago [-]
Picasso managed it all without these meds.
fragmede 1 days 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.
graceful6800 1 days ago [-]
....in bed
Modified3019 1 days 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 1 days ago [-]
Study link and/or source?
Good4boothee 1 days ago [-]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ototoxic_medication#Other_exam... has some sources. Worth noting NSAIDs like aspirin are also listed there.
dpark 1 days ago [-]
That’s a helpful reference. If accurate, the method of action here is simply nasal congestion (a common side effect).
Noaidi 1 days 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 1 days 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 1 days 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 1 days 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 1 days ago [-]
such as alcochol of course
exhilaration 1 days 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 1 days 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 1 days ago [-]
I wonder if flomax (tamsulosin) figures into all this because lowered blood pressure can be a side effect.
jurip 1 days 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 1 days 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 1 days ago [-]
I thought nitrates were dangerous with regard to cancer. (?)
rkallos 1 days 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 1 days 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 1 days ago [-]
Or eat more plants!
mikestew 1 days 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?)

josh-wrale 1 days ago [-]
Thanks.
vonneumannstan 1 days 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

Noaidi 1 days ago [-]
Both of these nitrates turn into NO in the body.

https://pharmrev.aspetjournals.org/cms/10.1124/pr.120.019240...

While it is a cancer risk this is not true for all peoples.

josh-wrale 1 days ago [-]
Thanks.
astura 1 days 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 1 days 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 1 days 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 1 days ago [-]
...then please throw a 20mg Taladafil and go to the Gym - good luck! :-D LOL
KellyCriterion 1 days 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 1 days 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 1 days 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 1 days 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 1 days ago [-]
If you're doing the gym right, you don't have the energy to ogle anyone, anyway.
GenerWork 1 days 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 1 days 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 1 days ago [-]
L-Citrulline supplements are also commonly used.

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

cgh 1 days ago [-]
Cialis is most common and it is typically low dose, like 5mg/day. Can still provoke unwanted “movement” in a gym environment however.
1 days ago [-]
debo_ 1 days ago [-]
If that's the weirdest thing you've heard of weightlifters doing, you are lucky.
WithinReason 1 days ago [-]
what would be an unlucky thing to hear?
cgh 1 days ago [-]
Taking Arimidex (breast cancer treatment drug) to control estrogen levels.
r0me1 1 days 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 1 days ago [-]
Maybe not longer, but definitely harder.
karakoram 1 days ago [-]
Correct me if I am wrong but I think marathon runners take Cialis for something too.
mikestew 1 days 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 1 days ago [-]
Maybe the extra sex is the main benefit?
Geof25 1 days ago [-]
Monkey paw wish - you will live longer, but you will be constantly erect.
thinkthatover 1 days ago [-]
MarkusQ 1 days ago [-]
[flagged]
busterarm 1 days ago [-]
[flagged]
brandonb 1 days ago [-]
Can't rule out exercise.
stronglikedan 1 days ago [-]
I used to hear that sexually active couples lived longer, so there's that.
stronglikedan 1 days ago [-]
I hope so, since I take it daily for my enlarged prostate.
hulitu 1 days ago [-]
What's wrong with Viagra ?
khalic 1 days 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 1 days 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 1 days 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 1 days 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.

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