NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Friday, May 29, 2015

Just saying the word “Viagra” can lead to flustered faces and suppressed laughter. We all know what Viagra is used for and what part of the body it affects, and we’re all presumably mature adults who can rise above such juvenile behavior to confront a serious subject.

It seems the famed boner-producing drug may be able to help combat the scourge of malaria.

Researchers from the Pasteur Institute in Paris found that drugs like Viagra may be effective in preventing malaria from spreading from person to person by stiffening up the parasite that causes it, according to a May 16 story in the Sydney Morning Herald.