Children and Viagra.......

let's give them it.....

"VIAGRA HELPS KIDS WITH FATAL ILLNESS

DALLAS -- Children suffering from a rare and fatal lung disease were able to walk farther and breathe easier after taking the impotence pill Viagra, a small study suggests.

Researchers say that use of the drug to treat these very sick children, suffering from pulmonary hypertension, needs more study. But they called these early results promising.

Just a week ago, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved using the main ingredient in Viagra to treat adults with pulmonary hypertension.

The disease, which has no cure, causes continuous high blood pressure in the artery that carries blood from the heart to small vessels in the lungs. The vessels narrow, leaving less room for blood to flow. The heart can't keep up if the pressure gets too high, and patients suffer from fatigue, shortness of breath and eventually heart failure and death.

If untreated, children usually die within a year. And even with treatment, few patients live five years past diagnosis, said Adatia, who is former director of the Childhood Pulmonary Hypertension Clinic at Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children.

Adatia said one benefit of Viagra is that it has fewer side effects than other treatments, and that turning to Viagra is ''not that far of a leap.'' The drug relaxes the smooth muscle of blood vessels, increasing blood flow."

www.miami.com...

just noticed that the link leads to a paid subscription site...so, I guess...

here's the link to the google search.....

news.google.com...

there's a couples of stories on it there.




[edit on 14-6-2005 by dawnstar]

It seems Viagra is turning into a panacea for many ailments.

Soon we'll all be on it!

[edit on 6/14/2005 by djohnsto77]

Yeah - it'll really make your houseplants take off as well. It's the whole nitrogenization process thingy.

Well have to do something to pump up sales. I am sure the pharma companies took a hit when the rumours of blindness nearly got out of hand. Good thing they stumbled on new uses, and for the children too. How fortuitous for them

I'm sorry, I'm just seeing a lot of efforts to get people on drugs, including kids. Start them young, so they can be dependent before they even reach their teens. Good grief.

Troy

This is a serious question, because i would like to know if i had a child that needed to take viagra. I'm not exactly sure of what Viagra specifically does but from what i heard i must ask... does taking it give them boners?

Well, I guess I'll have to change my position on condoms in the classrooms.

Viagra works very simply - it increases blood flow to an area. It's a vasodilator. That is, it dilated the vessels.

Kids aren't known for their inability to have erections (any parent knows this ). However, as with PPH (primary pulmonary hypertension), there are other conditions that are helped by increased blood flow (and thus increased oxygen absorption).

When used for impotence, Viagra does require the patient to be somewhat aroused (mentally, etc etc)....as quoted here

"Viagra doesn't improve erections in normal men, only in those with difficulty in achieving or maintaining erections sufficient for sexual intercourse due to a true medical problem. It is not an aphrodisiac (sexual stimulant) and will not increase sexual desire. Unlike other treatments for erectile dysfunction, Viagra requires sexual stimulation to function. Without this stimulation, Viagra won't have any effect. "

Maybe it'd be more prudent to read this info with the knowledge that it's about the chemical involved....not the original indication for the drug.

edit: I can't help but think though...PPH is generally fatal; it's a brutal disease, and it's devatasting to everyone involved. If your kid had PPH, I'd think the least of your worries would be a medication that might cause an erection. No offense meant.

[edit on 16-6-2005 by Tinkleflower]

[edit on 16-6-2005 by Tinkleflower]

I dunno, I see so many drug commercials pounding us, mentioning side effects in the commercial itself. There must be something better to give to children for this condition.

In my own life, a cheap 50 cent bottle of hydrogen peroxide seems to be helping the condition of my skin. (applied externally) A side effect being blonde body hairs. Which is not a big deal, and doesn't seem to be harmful. I didn't necessarily want to look like a gorilla anyway.

Troy

Originally posted by cybertroy
I dunno, I see so many drug commercials pounding us, mentioning side effects in the commercial itself. There must be something better to give to children for this condition.

In my own life, a cheap 50 cent bottle of hydrogen peroxide seems to be helping the condition of my skin. (applied externally) A side effect being blonde body hairs. Which is not a big deal, and doesn't seem to be harmful. I didn't necessarily want to look like a gorilla anyway.

Troy

Read up on PPH

If you can come up with anything that's remotely effective, which doesn't have such side effects.....hey, be my guest. I'll be the first one congratulating any pioneer of safer (but effective) medical treatment

PPH isn't curable. It's not like a benign skin condition, and it's not like a case of pneumonia. Improving quality of life is probably the primary concern, and (having seen cases of PPH in real life), being able to breathe more easily (and thus, being able to move around a bit more, etc etc) tends to override the side effects.

Specially when the condition is fatal.

I know there could be some exceptions where drugs are used, I know sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do to save a life. But if there is a safer and better alternative then that should of course be used.

Troy

Originally posted by cybertroy
I know there could be some exceptions where drugs are used, I know sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do to save a life. But if there is a safer and better alternative then that should of course be used.

Troy

That's perhaps the point. There isn't, really.

PPH is a lethal, nasty animal....it's (very simply), slow suffocation to death, within about 3-5 years of diagnosis.

I'm fairly certain that if there were safer options, many would be tried before resorting to drugs with difficult side effects.

Tinkleflower makes some very valid points.

Many drugs are used for purposes other than what the original intent was.
Topamax has been used to prevent migranes and Topiramate has been used to treat scar tissue. Pregabalin is used for neuropathic pain.

But these drugs were designed for treating epilepsy.

If Viagra has proven itself effective in treating PPH, we need to drop the stigma that it is only for erectile dysfunction.

Just because of the name and the notoriety that this drug has made in the world, is no reason to deny treatment for those that can benefit from another use that has been found for it.

A bit of starch in your shorts is a better option than death.

(Tinkleflower, I love how you chose your name )

Originally posted by xxblackoctoberxx
... does taking it give them boners?

This made me laugh!

You went and made me all blushy there, anxiety (I can't be the only one who found a screen-name in such a childish manner....right? Right??!?!?! )

Yup - many medications are eventually approved, and used, for conditions completely different to those for which they were originally approved.

This isn't an uncommon practice.

Even drugs withdrawn from the market can be used where there's a severe need (thalidomide being used to treat certain forms of leprosy, for example).

Back to the matter at hand; I can understand troy's point of view on this, truly. Generally, it's always better to try and treat a condition in the manner which is the least harmful to the patient.

Sadly that means that sometimes the cure can be equally as painful or damaging as the condition. Chemotherapy is an example of how a toxic substance can cause severe symptoms, but aid in a cure.

PPH falls under a similar category of illnesses. It is not curable. The only thing we can do is manage patient symptoms; if sildenafil citrate can help with these symptoms without endangering the patient further, then it is neither humane nor logical to restrict or prevent it's use in this case.