Viagra fatal side effects: Promote the deterioration of abdominal aneurysm?

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Viagra fatal side effects: Promote the deterioration of abdominal aneurysm?

JAHA: “Viagra” was found to have fatal side effects and promote the deterioration of abdominal aneurysm.

Researchers from the University of Rochester and others published a research paper titled Sildenafil (Viagra) Aggravates the Development of Experimental Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm in the Journal of the American Heart Association (JAHA).

This study shows that sildenafil (commonly known as Viagra), a drug used to treat pulmonary hypertension and erectile dysfunction, can worsen abdominal aortic aneurysms.

Sildenafil, commonly known as “Viagra”, was developed by Pfizer in the United States .

It was initially used in clinical research as a 5-phosphodiesterase (PDE5) inhibitor for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases.

However, it did not achieve the researchers’ expectation of expanding blood vessels and alleviating cardiovascular diseases. In April 1991, the clinical study of sildenafil officially failed.

However, the researchers found strangely that the volunteers participating in the study were unwilling to return the remaining drugs.

Under questioning, these volunteers said that the drug had improved their sexual life.

Afterwards, Pfizer researchers changed the direction of their research and conducted research on the effect of sildenafil on the smooth muscle of the corpus cavernosum.

Sildenafil was approved by the FDA in 1998 for the treatment of male erectile dysfunction (ED), which also made Pfizer famous.

The aorta is composed of three layers, the middle layer is composed of vascular smooth muscle cells.

These cells are responsible for regulating blood vessel tension and constricting and relaxing the aorta, thereby regulating blood flow.

When the aorta cannot properly regulate blood flow, the risk of aortic aneurysm increases.

5-phosphodiesterase (PDE5) is an important enzyme in the body, which has the ability to regulate the contraction of vascular smooth muscle cells.

Drugs such as sildenafil are PDE5 inhibitors and work by inhibiting PDE5.

Previous clinical reports showed that some people who used PDE5 inhibitor drugs such as sildenafil had aortic dissection. This suggests that inhibition of PDE5 may be related to aortic risk.

Abdominal aortic aneurysm is a part of the abdominal aorta that becomes fragile or bulges due to various reasons. A ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm is a medical emergency.

Once this happens, only about 20% of patients can survive.

Abdominal aortic aneurysms are more common in elderly men, especially those with emphysema, family history of abdominal aortic aneurysms, high blood pressure , high cholesterol, smoking, and obesity.

Elderly men are the main user group of sildenafil. Therefore, the research team hopes to investigate whether the use of sildenafil to inhibit PDE5 affects the progression of abdominal aortic aneurysm.

The research team conducted experiments on mice. First, the research team induced abdominal aortic aneurysms in mice through surgery and monitored the size of their aorta.

Seven days after surgery, these mice developed abdominal aortic aneurysms. The mice were then randomly divided into two groups. One group took sildenafil dissolved in water at a dose of 60-100 mg/kg/day; the other group drank water without sildenafil.

The whole experiment lasted for 4 weeks to observe the size changes of abdominal aortic aneurysms in the two groups of mice.

The results of the experiment showed that compared with mice that did not take sildenafil, the abdominal aortic aneurysm of the mice that took sildenafil for 4 weeks was larger, and the average width increased by 37%; and the elastic fibers in the abdominal aortic aneurysm The degree of degradation or weakening has increased by 50%.

These findings indicate that sildenafil exacerbates the progression of abdominal aortic aneurysms, which may be caused by disrupting the contraction and normal working ability of smooth muscle cells.

Abdominal aortic aneurysms are more common in elderly men, which highly overlaps with the main users of sildenafil. This study suggests that patients with abdominal aortic aneurysm or high-risk groups should use sildenafil with caution. The research team also said that further research is needed to determine that human use also has this risk.