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Biotech / Medical : Pharma News Only (pfe,mrk,wla, sgp, ahp, bmy, lly) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Anthony Wong who wrote (511)	7/9/1998 9:36:00 PM
From: Anthony Wong	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1722

Women in tests to see if Viagra works for them By Celia Hall, Medical Editor London Telegraph, Thursday 9 July 1998 BRITISH women have taken part in trials to see if Viagra, the drug that can cure impotence in men, will be just as effective for women, its manufacturers said yesterday. The trial to see if the drug produced any ill effects is now completed and the company has move to the next stage of research to see if Viagra can improve women's sex lives. A spokesman for Pfizer, which makes Viagra, said yesterday that "a few hundred women" were taking part in the research in two European centres. If successful it would be several years before the pills could be licensed for female use. However, Derek Machin, consultant urologist at Fazakerly Hospital, Liverpool, said some women in America had been taking Viagra over the past two years. It is believed that Viagra would work for women in the same way as it does for men. Mr Machin warned yesterday that it would quickly become a drug of abuse - used by men and women with normal sexual function to enhance their sex lives. He said: "I can't see any reason why it would not have a significant beneficial effect in women. It will go on the black market. If some women get their hands on it and find that it works the word will get around. It was not possible to release a drug like Viagra and expect that there will not be a demand for it. Once it is licensed for women it will be widely used within months." Dr Machin said he was concerned about safety. He said: "My main anxiety is that as a new drug it should not be used by any women who might get pregnant." Marj Thoburn, head of services at Relate and a psycho-sexual specialist, said the problems were more complicated for women. She said: "We work with women who get highly aroused but can't tip themselves over into orgasm." Doctors are planning a campaign to persuade the producers of television soaps and magazine editors to show pictures of "buxom wenches" in a drive to reduce the cases of the slimmers' disease, anorexia. The British Medical Association conference in Cardiff yesterday criticised the use of fashionable waifs by the media and in advertising. Dr Muriel Broome, a retired director of Family Planning said: "In predisposed girls the constant images of very thin girls, particularly models, may encourage eating disorders." telegraph.co.uk