A recent study reveals that sildenafil, the main ingredient of Viagra, decreases the symptoms of MS (multiple sclerosis). So far the studies have been carried out on animal models.
A team of researchers at the UAB Institute of Biotechnology and Biomedicine, Barcelona, studies the effect of sildenafil on the debilitating symptoms of MS in animal models and found that clinical signs were reduced significantly with daily treatment at the onset of the MS. In 50% of the cases, a full recovery was observed after a short period of eight days. Sildenafil decreased the presence of inflammatory cells in the spinal cord and as a result there was less damage done to the nerve cells
This is exciting news for research as there is yet no known cure for this degenerative disease. This new research is published in Avta Neuropathologica and will hopefully lead to successful human trials.