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The infamous little blue pill that keeps men up and at ’em may improve a different kind of hardness — hardness of hearing, that is.
A new study reports that Viagra has the potential to reverse a frequently permanent type of inherited hearing loss.
About 3 in 2,000 people are born with auditory impairments. The good news is that popping a Viagra could come with a surprising perk beyond the bedroom.
Research published in The Journal of Clinical Investigation highlighted a mutation in a gene called CPD, which results in a form of deafness known as sensorineural hearing loss.
Scientists from the University of Chicago, the University of Miami and several institutions in Turkey uncovered that the condition could be targeted by two treatments.
One is a common supplement, while the other is the popular erectile dysfunction drug.
“This study is exciting because we found a new gene mutation that’s linked to deafness, and more importantly, we have a therapeutic target that can actually mitigate this condition,” said lead author Rong Grace Zhai, a neurological diseases professor at the University of Chicago.
One treatment was sildenafil, the active ingredient in Viagra and other ED medications.
In healthy hearing, the CPD gene instructs an enzyme to maintain levels of the amino acid arginine, which produces nitric oxide, helping send signals through the nervous system.
Sensorineural hearing loss occurs when the CPD gene pathway is disrupted, causing oxidative stress and cell death in the ear hair cells responsible for hearing and balance.
When the ear loses the function of the CPD gene, the ability to detect sound waves goes too.
The study authors addressed this loss in two ways using fruit flies with CPD mutations: sildenafil to stimulate nitric oxide production and a separate arginine supplement.
Both treatments improved hearing loss in the flies.
“It turns out that CPD maintains the level of arginine in the hair cells to allow a quick signaling cascade by generating nitric oxide,” Zhai explained. “These hair cells in particular are more sensitive or vulnerable to the loss of CPD.”
Sensorineural hearing loss can be managed with hearing aids and cochlear implants, though the initial study results may lead to a cure.
“We found a promising therapeutic avenue for these patients,” said Zhai. “It is a good example of our efforts to repurpose FDA-approved drugs for treating rare diseases.”
