14 DAY TRIAL // According to a recently published study in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, the most common drug to treat erectile dysfunction may be a lifesaving medicine for newborns with congenital heart disease previously weaned from inhaled nitric-oxide therapy. The research was carried out by a team of Australian scientists at the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne.
Overall results of the study showed that Viagra drug is highly efficient in preventing rebound pulmonary hypertension which occurs quite often in new-born babies. The erectile dysfunction medication proved also to be very potent in reducing the time babies usually spend on mechanical ventilation and in the intensive care units.
Lead researcher of the study Dr. Lara Shekerdemian explained why and how Viagra drug works on both erectile dysfunction and rebound pulmonary hypertension complication: "Viagra enhances the body's levels of cyclic-GMP, a naturally occurring substance that relaxes arteries and reduces their pressure, which is why its primary indication is for men with erectile dysfunction."
However, cyclic-GMP is abundant in the lungs and is the molecule via which nitric oxide acts as a dilator of pulmonary arteries. "That's why its use was explored in the setting of pulmonary hypertension in the newborn," the scientist also mentioned.
The study was conducted on 29 babies with congenital heart disease who had previously underwent withdrawal from nitric oxide. Out of the 29 infants, 15 were assigned to the treatment group and received a dose of the Viagra drug, while the rest of 14 infants were assigned to the control group and received a placebo. Results showed that 10 of the 14 new-born babies developed post-withdrawal rebound pulmonary hypertension, as compared to none from the Viagra treated group. Moreover, the time spent by infants in the treatment group in the ICU and on the mechanical ventilator decreased.
"Although we expected to see an avoidance of rebound, we were not expecting to see these additional benefits. Any intervention that smoothes their course in the intensive-care unit would have at least a short-term positive influence on their recovery from their underlying condition," commented Shekerdemian.
The Australian researcher concluded: "I think it already has become standard clinical practice, because the idea of using Viagra for this is not new. What's new is that this is the first study to look at it with a nice protocol in which they randomised patients and controlled in a blinded way. So it verifies what we've already been doing in clinical practice."