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

To: BigKNY3 who wrote (6450)	12/9/1998 1:16:00 AM
From: Anthony Wong	Respond to of 9523

UK - Drug Dealers Cash In On Black Market Viagra Tuesday December 8 A HUGE batch of the sex drug Viagra has been seized by police during a crackdown on heroin dealers. Seventy-five tablets with an estimated street value of £1500 were discovered at the home of one pusher. The find confirms fears that big-time drugs dealers are getting into the Viagra black market, lured by high profits and low risks. Viagra, which is designed to treat impotence, became available in the UK in September this year. But the Government slapped restrictions on it being handed out on the NHS because of an estimated £100million-a-year price tag. That created enormous demand for Viagra on the black market. And police are worried that an explosion of violence could result as criminals battle for a slice of the market. Evidence that supplies are falling into the wrong hands came during a series of drugs raids in Edinburgh last week, codenamed Operation Foil. Over 100 homes were targeted and more than 70 suspected dealers arrested. Drugs worth at least £200,000 and £130,000 in "dirty" money was seized. Detectives raided homes in Edinburgh's Craigmillar area on Thursday and found the stash of Viagra tablets stored alongside heroin and other Class A drugs. A source told the Record: "Dealers will get into anything that is profitable and we believe they can command up to £25 a tablet. A lot of people are simply curious to try it out. "If they are getting their hands on them for only £5 that's a big profit, probably more than you make dealing heroin." And it is not illegal to possess or sell the drug, unless you pretend to be medically qualified. The source said: "This may be an area where the law is behind what is happening on the street. "We are worried about this because of the risk to health of people taking Viagra without medical advice. There is evidence it can cause heart attacks. "People who take drugs tend to mix them anyway and there is no predicting the effect of adding Viagra to the cocktail. "Another major concern is that if the supply comes under the control of drugs dealers that could bring problems of other crime." Another source claimed Viagra is sold on the streets for £50 a throw, making it twice as expensive as a "hit" of heroin. Police are still not sure how pushers get their hands on Viagra but one source is the Internet. Officers admitted they even face the possibility of having to give the seized Viagra back to the dealers,. In the US, where Viagra is made, at least 69 men have died after taking the drug. One widow is suing makers Pfizer for £9million after her husband died of a heart attack. Last night Scottish home affairs minister Henry McLeish praised police for saving lives with the massive drugs haul. yahoo.co.uk

To: BigKNY3 who wrote (6450)	12/9/1998 8:33:00 AM
From: Anthony Wong	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 9523

Viagra aids some prostate surgery patients Tuesday December 8 1:48 PM ET NEW YORK, Dec 08 (Reuters Health) -- Viagra can effectively treat erectile dysfunction in men who have had prostate surgery if the operation left certain nerves intact, according to US researchers. The research team tested the drug on 28 men who had undergone prostatectomy, removal of the prostate gland. Viagra worked in 80% of 15 men who had undergone bilateral nerve-sparing procedures, but in none of the men who had undergone other types of operations where the nerves to the penis were cut. The report is published in the current issue of Urology. ''These findings should encourage urologists to continue to perform and perfect the nerve-sparing approach to give their patients the best chance of successful treatment for impotence after prostatectomy,'' write the researchers, led by Dr. Craig D. Zippe of The Cleveland Clinic Foundation in Ohio. Zippe and colleagues tested Viagra, a drug that results in increased blood flow to the penis, on 28 men who had undergone prostatectomy roughly a year earlier. Fifteen of the men had had bilateral nerve-sparing surgery, which left both sets of penile nerves intact. Another 3 had had unilateral nerve sparing surgery, which left 1 set intact. The remaining 10 had had non-nerve sparing surgery. Zippe and colleagues interviewed the men and their spouses both before the men tried Viagra, also known as sildenafil citrate, and after the men had taken the drug. Of the men who had had bilateral nerve sparing surgery, 80% had erections sufficient for intercourse after taking 1 to 3 doses of Viagra. Moreover, 80% of the spouses of the men who had had bilateral nerve sparing surgery reported being satisfied with intercourse after their partners took Viagra, the researchers report. In contrast, none of the men who had erectile dysfunction after either unilateral nerve sparing surgery or non-nerve sparing surgery responded to the drug, according to Zippe and colleagues. Since all of the men in the study had undergone surgery about a year prior to starting Viagra, it is ''quite possible that earlier initiation of sildenafil might increase the positive response rate,'' in men who have had either unilateral or non-nerve-sparing prostatectomy, Zippe and colleagues speculate. The most commonly reported side effects associated with Viagra were headaches and changes in color vision, ''but none of the patients discontinued the medication because of side effects,'' the researchers report. SOURCE: Urology 1998;52:963-966. dailynews.yahoo.com