Beyond ED: the other uses of Viagra
- By:Henry Silva
Sildenafil citrate is best known as Viagra, a drug used to treat erectile dysfunction. The drug was originally developed to relieve high blood pressure. It causes blood vessels in certain tissues, such as the lungs, to relax. This improves blood flow from the heart and increases oxygen transport to working muscles. Sildenafil works by inhibiting phosphodiestrase-5, an enzyme which degrades cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) a cell messenger that causes the blood vessels to relax. By inhibiting the enzyme, the drug allows greater vasodilation and greater blood flow. So with such positive results on blood flow, there is increasing research into expanding the uses of Viagra into other areas of the human body.
According to researchers at the University of Vermont School of Medicine, the erectile dysfunction drug might one day be used to treat a dangerous disorder during pregnancy that spikes a woman's blood pressure. Viagra didn't actually lower the blood pressure of lab rats, but it did improve blood circulation -- suggesting the drug may have increased blood flow to the uterus and placenta, the researchers said in a statement.
Doctors at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit are also studying Viagra as a possible treatment for strokes. Animal tests have indicated the sexual performance drug used by millions of men can improve memory and movement by helping injured brains develop new cells and blood vessels, researchers said. The study will focus on Viagra's effect on people who have suffered ischemic strokes, which are caused by blocked arteries. Nearly 90 percent of the strokes that occur yearly are ischemic, and they often cause long-term disability and death.
Sildenafil (Viagra), may also be beneficial in treating patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension, according to data recently presented at the American College of Chest Physicians annual meeting in Seattle. Viagra is used to open up blood vessels, and its use for treating PAH shows promise. This is particularly significant in the treatment of the disorder in new born babies for whom chronic pulmonary hypertension is virtually a death sentence. It can begin with a heart defect, or for reasons that are not well explained; but when the blood pressure rises inside the lungs and stays that way, there is often little that can be done. But a few small studies have recently suggested that babies with deadly pulmonary hypertension may respond with good success to Sildenafil
Viagra may be used to boost circulation in the intestine, a finding which can help treat Crohn's disease. People with the long-term, inflammatory condition develop holes and ulcers in the intestine. The researchers used Viagra to boost blood flow to the intestine in the patients with Crohn's disease, thus increasing the flow of white cells to the damaged area.
Sildenafil (Viagra) also improves high altitude exercise performance up to 45 per cent for some. The drug significantly improved the cardiovascular and exercise performance measures of trained cyclists at high altitude. The researchers hypothesized that the drug would allow the study's participants to improve their performance at altitude because it would reduce the constriction of vessels in the lungs that sometimes occurs at altitude. In turn, that would allow greater blood flow through the heart, better transfer of oxygen from the lungs to the blood and improved oxygen delivery to working muscles.
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James Kirby