Viagra may be useful for serious lung disease

Reuters ^ | 11/19/05 | Reuters

[wagglebee]

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Treatment with Viagra (sildenafil) can improve exercise capacity and functional ability in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension, a serious disease involving high pressure in the blood vessels that enter the lungs, new research suggests.

The findings, which appear in The New England Journal of Medicine, are based on a study of 278 patients who were randomly selected to receive Viagra, at one of three doses, or inactive "placebo" three times daily for 12 weeks.

The main endpoint was the distance walked in 6 minutes. According to the report, the study did not have enough patients to assess the effect of Viagra on the risk of death.

At all of the doses tested, Viagra significantly improved the 6-minute walking distance when compared with placebo, lead author Dr. Nazzareno Galie, from the University of Bologna in Italy, and colleagues note. For the 222 patients who used Viagra for 1 year, the improvement in distance was 51 meters.

In addition, all of the Viagra doses were associated with a significant drop in lung blood pressure and with an improvement in functional ability.

Consistent with previous reports, side effects, such as flushing and diarrhea, were more common with Viagra than with placebo, the findings indicate.

"This study demonstrates the efficacy and safety of sildenafil in the treatment of patients with symptomatic pulmonary artery hypertension," the researchers conclude. However, as noted, the study was not designed to assess Viagra's effect on the risk of death.

The study was funded by Pfizer, Inc., which markets Viagra.

SOURCE: The New England Journal of Medicine, November 17, 2005.

[wagglebee]

What I can't quite figure out is how men are unable to tell the difference between Viagra and a placebo!

[A.Hun]

Wouldn't it make it hard to breathe?

[wagglebee]

Wouldn't it make it hard to breathe?

Or just hard.

[Keith in Iowa]

Seems logical that with an amount of blood collecting in a certain part of the anatomy, blood pressure should drop elsewhere...

[JRios1968]

Wouldn't it make it hard to breathe?

"If you experience any hardness of breathing that lasts longer than 36 hours, please contact your health care professional..."

[A.Hun]

This is hardly a joking matter.

[digger48]

What I can't quite figure out is how men are unable to tell the difference between Viagra and a placebo!

It's not that hard to figure out.

[A.Hun]

Whole new meaning to watching someone's chest rise and fall.

[jjmcgo]

Take a deep breath and stand up straight.

[calrighty]

Uhem................when it stays hard for 1 1/2 hours, it ain't difficult to discern from a placebo.... : )

[umgud]

Damn, I can breathe better already......... now where's that little lady?

[JRios1968]

This is hardly a joking matter.

But it is a hard issue.

[Doctor Raoul]

Beat me to it. What about their NASCAR team? Wouldn't finishing first be a bad thing?

[Slings and Arrows]

Viagra has also proved useful in treating males with severe burns on the lower extremities. It doesn't do anything for the burns, but it sure keeps the sheets off their legs.

[calrighty]

My kinda recreation!

[NonValueAdded]

Come to think of it, this makes much sense. Think about it ... high blood pressure in the lungs ... solution, move the blood elsewhere.

[Graymatter]

I've never seen flushing and diarrhea paired quite like that before. That's very interesting.

[writer33]

I wish you guys would stop taking the hardline on this issue.

[calrighty]

I will endeavor to soften it up...................in a few hours.

[writer33]

Thoughts of Janet Reno shoud do it.

:)