Viagra Blog Posts - Drugs.com
The latest blog posts from the Viagra support group brought to you by Drugs.com Answers.Fake Drugs Bought on the Web Pose Big Health Risks
FRIDAY, Jan. 29 -- People who buy prescription medications over the Internet, especially drugs purporting to treat erectile dysfunction, are playing Russian roulette with their lives, a new study contends.
At best the drugs won't help you and at worst they could kill you, the review article said.
"You may be wasting your money or you may actually be hurting yourself," said Dr. Margaret E. Wierman, professor of medicine at the University of Colorado at Denver and chief of endocrinology at the Denver VA Medical Center, who was not involved with the study.
Counterfeit Internet drugs are a mushrooming problem. Seizures of fake drugs in Europe quadrupled between 2005 and 2007. And the number of investigations undertaken by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration increased by a...
Guidelines Urge Use of Erectile Dysfunction Drugs
THURSDAY, Oct. 22 -- Doctors should prescribe oral phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE-5) inhibitor drugs, such as Viagra, Cialis and Levitra, for men with erectile dysfunction, unless the patient is on nitrate therapy, according to a clinical practice guideline issued by the American College of Physicians.
The type of erectile dysfunction (ED) drug prescribed should be based on the individual preferences of patients, including cost of medication, ease of use and types of side effects, the authors noted.
"The evidence is insufficient to compare the effectiveness or adverse effects of different PDE-5 inhibitors for the treatment of ED because there were only a few head-to-head trials," guideline lead author Dr. Amir Qaseem, senior medical associate with the ACP, said in a news...
Viagra Helpful for Children With Heart Defect
TUESDAY, Nov. 17 -- The erectile dysfunction drug sildenafil, commonly known as Viagra, boosts the heart's pumping ability in children and young adults who've had the Fontan operation to correct single-ventricle heart defects, researchers report.
In the Fontan operation, doctors direct venous blood directly to the pulmonary arteries, bypassing the heart. The procedure is the third surgery in staged reconstruction for children with single-ventricle defects, explained the researchers from the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia in a news release from the American Heart Association.
The study included 27 children and young adults who'd undergone the Fontan operation an average of 11 years earlier. The patients, average age 15, were given either a placebo or 20...
Viagra Trial for Sickle Cell Lung Problems Halted
TUESDAY, July 28 -- The first clinical trial of a treatment for pulmonary hypertension in adults with sickle cell anemia has been stopped because of severe side effects in some participants.
The trial involved sildenafil -- marketed as Viagra when it is used to treat erectile dysfunction and Revatio when used for pulmonary arterial hypertension, or high blood pressure in the lungs.
"This was a very big disappointment," said Dr. Mark Gladwin, lead investigator of the study, which was sponsored by the U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. "We were very excited about this drug. It has a very high safety profile and has worked in every form of pulmonary hypertension. The preliminary data showed a lowering in pulmonary hypertension in sickle cell...
Impotence Drugs Don't Harm Vision: Study
TUESDAY, April 14 -- The erectile dysfunction drugs Cialis (tadalafil) and Viagra (sildenafil) didn't appear to damage vision in men who took the medications daily for six months, according to a drug company study.
These drugs, called selective phodiesterase type 5 (PDE5) inhibitors, treat erectile dysfunction by interfering with the action of the compound PDE5 in the blood vessels of the penis. But there are concerns that PDE5 inhibitors may also act on similar compounds in the retina, the part of the eye that receives and transmits images to the brain, according to background information in the study.
Men taking PDE5 inhibitors have reported mild and temporary blurred vision, altered light perception, and blue-tinged vision.
This Eli Lilly study included 244 men, ages 30 to 65,...
Viagra May Shield Heart From Blood Pressure Damage
MONDAY, Jan. 5 -- Tests in mouse hearts show that sildenafil, the key ingredient in Viagra, may shield hearts from damage caused by high blood pressure, a new study suggests.
Investigators said that sildenafil appears to influence RGS2, a single protein essential in the reactions that initially protect the heart's blood-pumping function from spiraling into heart failure. The findings, published online Monday in The Journal of Clinical Investigation, suggest that sildenafil may prove useful in the treatment or prevention of heart damage due to chronic high blood pressure.
"Sildenafil clearly prolongs the protective effects of RGS2 in mouse hearts," senior investigator Dr. David Kass, a cardiologist and professor of medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine...
Viagra (sildenafil)
[Posted 10/18/2007] FDA informed healthcare professionals of reports of sudden decreases or loss of hearing following the use of PDE5 inhibitors Viagra, Levitra, Cialis for the treatment of erectile dysfunction, and Revatio for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension. In some cases, the sudden hearing loss was accompanied by tinnitus and dizziness. Medical follow-up on these reports was often limited which makes it difficult to determine if the loss of hearing was related to the use of one of the drugs, an underlying medical condition or other risk factors for hearing loss, a combination of these factors or other factors. The PRECAUTIONS and ADVERSE REACTIONS sections of the approved product labeling for Viagra, Levitra, and Cialis were revised. FDA is working with the...
Viagra (Sildenafil citrate)
[Posted 07/08/2005] FDA notified healthcare professionals of updated labeling for Cialis, Levitra and Viagra to reflect a small number of post-marketing reports of sudden vision loss, attributed to NAION (non arteritic ischemic optic neuropathy), a condition where blood flow is blocked to the optic nerve. FDA advises patients to stop taking these medicines, and call a doctor or healthcare provider right away if they experience sudden or decreased vision loss in one or both eyes. Patients taking or considering taking these products should inform their health care professionals if they have ever had severe loss of vision, which might reflect a prior episode of NAION. Such patients are at an increased risk of developing NAION again. At this time, it is not possible to determine whether these...