Date: November 2, 2006

Researchers have found that a Viagra dose can thwart the life-threatening complication called rebound pulmonary hypertension by significantly reducing the time span of newborns on mechanical ventilation and in ICU.

The research findings were published in the November issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. During the study, Viagra was given to 15 infants with congenital heart disease who were being weaned from inhaling nitric oxide therapy. Nitric oxide therapy is a treatment used in ICU to help survive the newborns with this condition. Viagra helped the babies come out of the ICU and mechanical ventilation earlier than normal duration and reduced the complications of rebound pulmonary hypertension.

According to Dr. Steven Abman of The Children's Hospital in Denver , rebound pulmonary hypertension is a common condition. Not being a part of the study, he comments that the study was most meticulous one to prove the efficiency of Viagra in preventing the complication.

Dr. Lara Shekerdemian of the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne said that as Viagra enhances the body's levels of cyclic-GMP which is a naturally occurring substance that relaxes arteries and reduces their pressure, its use was explored in the setting of pulmonary hypertension in the newborn. She also adds that unless there's any reason for stopping the use of Viagra, it should be routinely used for infants with this condition. She stated "We certainly do so now in our pediatric intensive-care unit".

Dr. Abman says that many hospitals are already into this practice, as the idea of using Viagra for rebound pulmonary hypertension is not new.

The next step of Shekerdemian and her team would be a new study in the Royal Children's Hospital's Neonatal Intensive-Care Unit to find out Viagra's potential to protect premature infants with rebound pulmonary hypertension.

Source: www.forbes.com

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