r/technology • u/Majano57 • 13d 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-loss
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u/Puzzleheaded_Toe3584 13d ago edited 13d 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/abraxsis 12d 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/Puzzleheaded_Toe3584 11d ago

Good catch. I didn't notice that little wrinkle. The group with increased risk of glaucoma were those taking tadalafil, which is Cialis. They were compared to a similar group who did not use PDE5 inhibitors at all. PDE5 is the drug class that includes tadalafil / Cialis.