Viagra may help prevent the onset of type 2 diabetes, researchers have discovered.
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A new study, funded by the U.S. National Institute of Health, found that the drug sildenafil (Viagra) boosts insulin sensitivity in overweight, pre-diabetic people, thereby reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes.
Research shows that 30 percent of pre-diabetics who do not receive treatment go on to develop type 2 diabetes within five years - a disease which affects more than 3 million Brits.
"We need additional strategies to help slow the progression from pre-diabetes to diabetes," said lead author of the study, Dr Nancy Brown, of Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.
"Weight loss and exercise regimens can be difficult to maintain, and some current medications have been limited by concerns about adverse effects.
"Sildenafil and related drugs could offer a potential avenue for addressing the rising number of diabetes diagnoses."
The research, published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, involved overweight people with pre-diabetes being treated with either Viagra or a matching placebo for three months. Researchers found that participants who were treated with Viagra were more sensitive to the effects of insulin, which heightens their chances of warding off Type 2 diabetes.
The small study, which was limited to 51 participants, showed that the erectile dysfunction drug was also tied to reduced levels of a marker associated with a heightened risk of heart and kidney disease.
Dr Brown added: "Because existing drug therapies to prevent type 2 diabetes can have negative effects on the heart or be of limited use in patients with kidney disease, strategies to prevent diabetes without adversely affecting the risk of kidney and heart disease could have a large impact on public health.
"Further studies will be needed to determine whether long-term treatment with drugs like sildenafil can prevent the onset of diabetes in high-risk patients."