The medical uses of Viagra have, in the last few years, extended far beyond those for which the drug was originally developed. Although most commonly known as an anti-impotence treatment, Viagra has also been used to open the blood vessels in the hearts of premature babies and to increase the blood supply to the brains of Israeli fighter pilots to improve their flight performance.
Now a new study, which has just been published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Scientists, suggests that Viagra may have yet another use: the drug may help to prevent damage to the heart as caused by the disease Muscular Dystrophy.
Muscular Dystrophy is a wasting condition, which affects about one in every 3,500 boys. It is possible for girls to carry the defective gene which gives rise to this condition, though it is extremely rare for them to actually suffer any symptoms. One of the main effects of the disease is a weakening of the muscles of the heart. This will eventually lead to heart failure and results in many patients with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (the most common and also the most severe form of the disease) dying young, often in their twenties.
The study, which was conducted on mice with the disease, showed that the drug helps patients with DMD in much the same way that it helps men with erectile problems, that is to say, it increases blood supply and flow to the problem area, in this case the heart, keeping it strong and healthy.
It achieves this by preventing the loss of a signalling molecule that plays a major part in keeping blood vessels open. This is an exciting breakthrough in the possible treatment of a disease that claims many young lives and provides yet another example of Viagra’s health benefits extending far beyond those for which it was originally intended.