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Biotech / Medical : PFE (Pfizer) How high will it go? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Mkilloran who wrote (5615)	9/18/1998 6:39:00 PM
From: Anthony Wong	Respond to of 9523

Viagra pill 'is safe and effective for Asian men' The Straits Times, Singapore SEP 18 1998 Early data of the blue impotence pill's first Asian trial here compares well with a Western study, and will be presented at a conference today VIAGRA is as effective and safe for Asian men as it is for Caucasian men, said Dr Tan Hui Meng from Subang Jaya Medical Centre in Malaysia. He will be presenting early data of the first Asian trial here on the efficacy and safety of the blue-coloured impotence pill at the Asian Congress in Urology at the Raffles City Convention Centre today. His data was based on the experience of about 250 patients aged around 51 with erectile dysfunction, another term for impotence. They came from eight centres in Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines. The Singapore centres were the New Changi Hospital and the Singapore General Hospital. In the study, which started early last year and ended this year, both doctors and patients were not told if patients were given dummy pills or Viagra. The results found that patients on Viagra were able to get an erection and maintain it even after penetration "most of the times". They scored 4.2 on the International Index of Erectile Function, the gold standard for measuring impotence. But those on dummy pills were able to do the same "a few times or sometimes", scoring 2.4 to 2.6 on the same scale. This compares well with the findings of the Western trial, where the average score of those on Viagra was 3.8, said Dr Tan. The scale ranges from 0, meaning "no erection", to 5, meaning (almost) always having an erection. The Asian trial reported the same side effects as the West, namely, headache, flushing, blocked nose, muscle ache and blue-green tinged vision with occasional sparkle which can last for two hours. About 20 per cent of Asian men on Viagra complained of at least one of the side-effects, compared to 30 per cent of Caucasian men. No one had a heart attack or stroke, although three men on Viagra dropped out. One defaulted, another had no specified reason, and a third developed angina, or heartburn, which probably developed due to physical activity and not the drug itself, said Dr Tan. Although the Asian trial results appear to be better, it does not necessarily follow that the drug works better and is safer for Asian men, said Dr Tan. He explained: "The Asian men studied are about five years younger than the Caucasian men. Also, they are of a smaller build, so the effects of the drug may be stronger on them." The study also found improvement in secondary factors such as erectile and orgasmic functions, sexual desire and overall satisfaction. Western data reported the same improvement except for sexual desire. But Dr Tan emphasised that Viagra is not an aphrodisiac. He said: "Sexual desire may have improved because the men were now able to get erection. Success breeds success." straitstimes.asia1.com.sg