Viagra treats cold hands syndrome, study finds
[If Viagra does this, Cialis will not be far behind].
Mon Nov 7, 2005 04:31 PM ET
WASHINGTON, Nov 7 (Reuters) - Viagra, sold to treat erectile dysfunction, also may help a circulatory disorder called Raynaud's phenomenon, German researchers reported on Monday.
The drug, made by Pfizer Inc. (PFE.N: Quote, Profile, Research) under the chemical name sildenafil, reduced the frequency and duration of Raynaud's attacks, the researchers found.
Raynaud's phenomenon occurs when capillaries constrict in response to cold temperature or stress, causing numbness, tingling and pain in the fingers, toes and ears.
It affects 3 million to 5 million people worldwide, more women than men, and can cause skin ulcers in extreme cases.
Writing in the journal Circulation, the researchers said sildenafil seemed to improve blood flow to tiny blood vessels called capillaries.
Dr. Roland Fries of the University of Saarland in Homburg, Germany, and colleagues studied 16 patients with severe Raynaud's phenomenon who had not been helped by conventional treatment with drugs that help dilate blood vessels.
They were given either sildenafil or a placebo for four weeks and then were switched to the opposite treatment for four more weeks.
The Viagra-treated patients had an average of 35 Raynaud's attacks compared to 52 in those given placebos, and the attacks lasted half as long.
Average capillary blood flow velocity more than quadrupled while patients took Viagra, Fries and colleagues reported.
Sildenafil acts to increase blood flow by affecting a chemical called nitric oxide.
"Our results are likely to change clinical practice," Fries said in a statement |
