Want more muscle? Erectile dysfunction drug may be where it’s at

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A popular erectile dysfunction medication could be connected with muscle regeneration.

Researchers in Italy discovered that tadalafil, the active ingredient in Cialis, may affect muscle cell growth, as well as its survival and development.

The study, published in the journal Molecular Biology Reports, tested the drug on mouse muscle cells in a lab for up to seven days.

Intriguing early findings

Authors Dr. Cristina Antinozzi and Dr. Luigi Di Luigi, researchers at the University of Rome Foro Italico’s endocrinology unit, compared that with untreated cells and found that with tadalafil, there was more muscle-cell growth and survival, with less cell death, and stronger early muscle-building signals.

The research also showed higher SIRT3 (Sirtuin 3), a vital protein known for its role in aging, metabolism, and cellular health that manages the energy inside the body’s cells, as well as lower myostatin, which slows muscle growth so muscles don’t get too large or heavy.

Researchers also found that cells stayed in an earlier, regenerative-like stage longer, as fewer had developed into fully mature muscle fibres by the seventh day.

The study was conducted in mouse models over a week, so the results could differ when applied to humans during a clinical trial, especially when muscle size, strength, and recovery are measured and factored in.

More research needed

That said, the findings represent an “encouraging look at how tadalafil might be repurposed to support muscle tissue repair and regeneration,” Antinozzi told Fox News.

“That’s a fascinating biological signal, but it’s far from proving that Cialis builds muscle or improves recovery in people.”

Antinozzi noted that more research is needed to understand the drug’s long-term effects.

“While more work is needed, this research opens up exciting new possibilities for future therapeutic strategies in muscle recovery, though it also highlights the need to monitor how such mechanisms might be viewed or misused in sports and performance contexts.”

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