Viagra may cause vision loss

How to say Australian researchers, an ingredient in this popular drug against impotence may cause vision problems and blindness in some men.

It is already known that sildenafil, the active ingredient in the treatment of erectile dysfunction, can cause temporary vision problems in some healthy people. Now doctors have warned that it may also lead to eye damage in people with pigmented retinitis and in men with normal vision with the gene responsible for this disease. The drug can inhibit the enzyme that is important for transmitting light signals from the retina to the brain.

The results obtained from the new research of scientists of University of New South Wales, Australia that tested the effect of sildenafil on healthy mice and rodents with one copy of this mutant gene. They found that the healthy mice experienced problems with his eyesight for two days.

However the drug affected the eyes of mice that carried the mutant gene for two weeks. The researchers also found early signs of cell death in the eyes of mice, suggesting sildenafil may cause loss of vision in people who carry the disease gene but have normal vision. Dr Lisa Nivison-Smith: "If cells actually die in the retina, it will lead to blindness."

Source: nauka24news.ru/