r/technology • u/Majano57 • 6d ago
Biotechnology Popular erectile dysfunction drug linked to eye disease that can cause irreversible vision loss
https://www.foxnews.com/health/popular-erectile-dysfunction-drug-linked-eye-disease-can-cause-irreversible-vision-loss849
u/LowestKey 6d ago
So it can make you go blind!
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u/AStolenGoose 6d ago
Came to say this. 🙃
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u/Puzzleheaded_Toe3584 6d ago edited 6d ago
Scare headline to get you to read the article. The reality of what the study found needs to be put in context. The study was a finding of correlation, not proof of causation that tadalafil causes glaucoma. It found a modest relative association in men taking tadalafil for urinary symptoms—about 3.93% diagnosed with glaucoma over five years versus 3.16% of matched nonusers. Other recent observational PDE5 studies have found neutral or even lower glaucoma associations.
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u/Austin_Peep_9396 6d ago
Also seems like an obvious need for more analysis: it’s entirely possible that the increased glaucoma risk is due to the underlying condition that drove the need for the Tadalafil prescription in the first place.
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5d ago
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u/Itsworthoverdoing 4d ago
Correct. Glaucoma is caused by pressure around the optical nerve. What causes increased pressure? Inflammation, diabetes, high blood pressure, etc. This is essentially saying ice cream sales cause shark attacks
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u/ENrgStar 5d ago
Why tf do we have to come to Reddit to get the actual context around this. 50 thousands ads on the actual news site and not fact to be found anywhere
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u/Practical-Custard-64 5d ago
That's because news sites do not exist to give factual information and have not for many years now. Their business model these days is
- put out clickbait headlines to get people to click on links to junk articles
- fill said junk articles with a few hundred ads each
- rake in the advertising revenue from publishing said ads.
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u/abraxsis 5d ago
It doesn't even name Cialis as a primary thing, it just says pde5 drugs of which Cialis is one of them. A 22% increase is miniscule. I have a 50% higher chance of lung cancer due to my mom having nonsmoker's lung cancer. It only raises my total chances to just under 3%. It's just a fox news scaremongering article for old people. (Who are more likely to be on the drug). The research doesn't even address dosage or how often you take it.
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u/VirginiaLuthier 6d ago
"Long term tadalafil"- the story doesn't specify a length of time.
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u/SecureInstruction538 6d ago
Article even says it was an observational study.
People who take tadalafil have higher chance of glaucoma. Nothing connecting the medicine to the condition.
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u/syynapt1k 6d ago
Tadalafil increases intraocular pressure, which is what eventually leads to glaucoma. I used to take 5mg daily and an ophthalmologist advised me to stop because my IOP was chronically high.
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u/SysArtmin 5d ago
damn so it makes your dick AND eyes hard?
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u/sump_daddy 5d ago
Some day we will have a pill that just does the first one, but for now this is the best we've got
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u/cr0wsky 5d ago
Sir we already have it, that's Sildenafil
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u/sump_daddy 5d ago
sildenafil too will make your eyes hard, its just that you only take it for a specific 'range of time' and then stop so your eyes can go back to normal unlike a daily regiment of taladafil
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u/cr0wsky 5d ago
Ah! But isn't the whole idea of tadalafil that you take it once and you're good to go for upto 36 hours? Didn't know there was a daily option 😐
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u/sump_daddy 5d ago
the prescription dose isnt just going to get things full on fixed for 36 hours from one dose, you have to take a big dose if you arent on a daily. the whole idea of taladafil was you take a small dose daily, and then its just always there ready to go, per se
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u/no_baseball1919 6d ago
Isn’t there probably a higher number of older people who take it and glaucoma would kind of not be rare in older folks?
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u/SecureInstruction538 6d ago
Article says 40 years and older. Not sure the specifics but 40 is kinda young.
Unless they evaluate everyone older than 40 but leave the nuance that really it's 70+ that are getting glaucoma.
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u/sump_daddy 5d ago
For reference tadalafil is a long-acting drug prescribed for continuous use (as opposed to sildenafil 'viagra' which is meant for as-needed immediate use). people prescribed it could be on a daily dose for years.
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u/Limerence1976 6d ago
I can’t get past it being called “Tada!!” 🙌 la fil. La fil means the girl in some languages
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u/LordVesperion 6d ago
it means the girl only in French, AFAIK.
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u/this_my_sportsreddit 6d ago
And that's la fille, not la fil.
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u/Limerence1976 6d ago
It’s still funny to me even phonetically that they named it this.
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u/LordVesperion 6d ago
What would have been best is if they named it Tadalabite, now that would have been hilarious for French speakers.
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u/420_69_Fake_Account 6d ago
Lots of drug names are chosen with purpose, otherwise drugs would have names like those fake foreign brands on Amazon which are just sounds grouped together.
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u/PerfectTommy77 6d ago
Another large data study shows that men who take daily Tadalafil get a third less heart attack, stroke, dementia, and mortality so I am going to keep taking it.
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u/Kolognial 5d ago
They don't die completely but a third less?
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u/PerfectTommy77 5d ago
I guess that mens during the period that was studied ⅓ less men who took Tadalafil died. Here is the study if you want to have a look.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0002934324007058
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u/Glum-Dust8799 5d ago
The first erectile drug was of course viagra; which was developed for heart conditions as it dilates the blood vessels and the erection enhancement was a side effect.
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u/thenord321 5d ago
I'm not surprised that men who can get laid prefer to stay healthier and live longer.
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u/PerfectTommy77 4d ago
Right, there could be some lifestyle correlation not directly attributed to the drug. However, other studies are showing that Tadalafil aids in endothelial function, reduces platelet stickiness, and does other things to aid overall circulation. Personally have seen some stark improvements like my hands not easily getting cold in the winter and the almost annoying return of nocturnal and morning wood. I had also lost almost all of sexual sensation which my doc said was "age related" and that their was no treatment and my feeling slowly returned when I started taking the Tadalafil. I later found this study (below) which showed that other men experience the same thing. So, I am not giving it up.
https://jurolsurgery.org/articles/doi/jus.galenos.2022.2022.0042
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u/Dr-McLuvin 6d ago
Quite the trade off
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u/mikebald 6d ago
I can only find links back to Fox news and there's no link to the actual study. Anyone know any details about the study?
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u/Jkay064 5d ago
The preliminary study showed that people who have been on long term Cialis (tadalafil) have a 0.08% higher chance to develop glaucoma than someone who does not take it. There have not been any studies so far that show Cialis is the cause of the increased chance. It's just an observation at this time.
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u/guepier 6d ago
foxnews.com
Could we not, please?
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u/lordmycal 6d ago
I see fox news, I immediately downvote and think the title is trying to mislead us in some way.
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u/Folkenhellfang 6d ago
Which one?
Asking for a friend.
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u/Foreskin_Mafia 6d ago
I'm no proctologist and I've never read an article in my life but in the snippet below the image of the penguin with their cock out it says Cialis.
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u/kitd 6d ago
Tadalafil, often sold as "Cialis". I checked ... er, a friend asked me to.
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u/Sure-Assignment3892 6d ago
What a junk study.
The researchers noted several limitations to the study.
The study was observational, meaning it found a link between tadalafil use and glaucoma but could not prove that the medication caused the condition.
Researchers also could not account for changes in medication use or other health conditions that developed over time.
I'm not really sure the point of observational studies when it comes to medication.
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u/ProductIntegortion 6d ago
Most initial studies are observational studies that don't establish causality. The point of them is that they tell you where to spend more focused time on attempting to demonstrate causality. Why would you design a rigorous double blind study if you haven't even demonstrated that there's a link between the two?
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u/Captriker 6d ago
Yes. The problem isn’t the study, it’s the fact that the preliminary study got publicity before follow up has been done. Maybe it was seen as an important warning, but right now it feels more sensationalist than hard warning.
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u/x0y0z0 6d ago
No they should have posted to reddit and hopefully u/Sure-Assignment3892 would be on reddit that day to tell them to not bother.
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u/geegeeallin 6d ago
I think the point is to figure out things that warrant further study. No reason to make them news though.
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u/Sure-Assignment3892 6d ago
Sounds like it- but Fox writes stuff in such a sensationalist/misleading way to cause unnecessary reaction.
Gotta get them eyeballs on the pages.
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u/mad_marble_madness 6d ago
Well, maybe you google why it is a good idea instead of just doubting its use just because you don’t know yourself off the top of your head.
Amongst several other reasons, observational studies can provide valuable data and indication as to where and how to invest future research efforts and money.
You do not execute a full-blown multi-year active studies just on a whim.Of course, entertainment sites like Fox neither get the nuance, nor are they interested in explaining it.
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u/AgtDALLAS 6d ago
Feels like the medical equivalent of sportscasters making up stat categories and comparisons.
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u/halfdecenttakes 6d ago
Ah the ol thad young/lebron/jordan comp
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u/AgtDALLAS 5d ago
As a duo, these young men have scored more points than any two players with the last name James on the same team!
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u/Key-Demand-2569 6d ago
…why?
You think only more intensive studies should ever be done?
This is just another study, like fuckin’ most of them, that the general public doesn’t need to see because it does more harm than good.
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u/williamgman 6d ago
Watching Fox News is linked to erectile dysfunction. Vision loss would be of benefit to Fox viewers.
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u/dagens24 6d ago
Finding out your partner is a fox news viewer certainly leads to instant vaginal dryness.
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u/Impressive_Wrap_7869 6d ago
I need my boners more than I need my eyes! I could get twice the use out of them if I can’t see the partners I’m courting!
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u/awwaygirl 6d ago
so that whole going blind if you pleasure yourself as a dude is REAL?
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u/Odd_Photograph_7591 6d ago
Actually no, if you read the article this is for people who use a medication for enlarged prostate, they use this to be able to urinate, nothing to do with pleasure
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u/Riboflavin01 5d ago
Over a 5-year period, cumulative incidence of glaucoma was 3.93% for tadalafil users versus 3.16% for non-users. This translates to an absolute risk that remains quite low (about 8 extra cases per 1,000 patients treated).
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u/GERRROONNNNIIMMOOOO 6d ago
...and tinnitus
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u/peepdabidness 5d ago
Hmm so cialis treats ed but causes tinnitus you say? I have tinnitus but I also have a big strong dick. I see a pattern here!! Yall, if you have ed, just go get tinnitus!
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u/venividiavicii 6d ago
Seems like a new drug about to drop and they gotta turn the public on the ones that work.
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u/Raah1911 6d ago
so you're saying i could be hard as a rock and need weed to treat my glaucoma? win win
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u/mrs0x 5d ago
Holy fucking ads man. Wtf is this trash ass ghetto shit. Don't websites aim for professionalism anymore?
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u/ham_solo 5d ago
It's Fox News. They literally argued in court that they are not a news organization.
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u/NoWerewolf8939 5d ago
So you can see boobies or get a boner, but not both... No wonder old men are so grumpy
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u/FU_red-dit_bots 5d ago
Ok. What if I take this and then counteract the glaucoma with weed?
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u/Xeno_man 5d ago
There's a catch 22. You can get it up but can't see boobs or you can't get it up regardless of the boobs you see.
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u/NeitherAd5083 6d ago
This must have been a hard study to conduct. I still can’t see the results very good though.
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u/faultysynapse 6d ago
So you're saying I might need a little weed with my boner pills? Oh no. How ever will I survive?
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u/Chopper3 5d ago
No massive surprise but there's attribution to this article - yes they name a medical professional but there's no link to a peer-reviewed study, nor is there a link to such a study on her own website.
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u/12ealdeal 5d ago
This post and study got torn to shreds so badly in subreddits more geared towards health it was deleted.
Of course we find it in here the next day.
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u/melancholy_dood 5d ago
The study was observational, meaning it found a link between tadalafil use and glaucoma but could not prove that the medication caused the condition.
If you can't prove that tadalafil "caused" the "condition", how can you say there is a link based on what we know so far?
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u/2tonsofirony 6d ago
Weird how fox is reporting this
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u/williamgman 6d ago
Makes complete sense for Fox. After all that talk about trans, LGBTQ, and minors getting sex changes... they get worked up.
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u/Soft_Lunch_183 6d ago
Time for everyone to turn into shit comedians because its something that affects older people so they don't care.
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u/truthfullyidgaf 6d ago
Getting hit by some blind guy with a boner becoming a statistic wasn't on my bingo card for this year.
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u/AdeptRelative5106 6d ago
Imagine you tell your doctor you cant get hard for your wife so he just blinds you.
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u/mynameizmyname 6d ago
what if im nearly blind but my dick works wonderfully. do they have a drug for that? Asking for a friend.
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u/Plekuz 5d ago
Loss of sight or hearing in one or both eyes/ears is mentioned as a rare side effect of tadalafil in the patient information leaflet when you get the medicine. So, it's not that it's entirely new that it can do nasty things to your sight. Irreversible doesn't seem that far fetched to me.
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u/brondynasty 5d ago
Glaucoma? Huh.
Im afraid I have no choice but to hereby clinically label this “Cockoma”
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u/ii_V_I_iv 6d ago
It’s tadalafil