Panamah
08-05-2004, 02:51 PM
Mountains!
Viagra lifts altitude endurance
By Julie Robotham, Medical Editor
August 6, 2004
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The little blue pills have been responsible for some swift ascents. But rarely, if ever, has Viagra scaled the 5400-metre heights to the Mount Everest base camp, where fear of frostbite usually keeps vulnerable parts of the anatomy well under wraps.
German doctors had hoped the erectile-dysfunction drug, which dilates blood vessels, would lower the dangerous high blood pressure in the lungs that people experience at high altitude.
And - at least for the 12 male and two female mountaineers in their experiment - it succeeded, dramatically increasing their ability to exercise while they became accustomed to the lower oxygen levels.
Capacity to exercise was reduced when people were starved of oxygen, said Hosseln Ghofrani, from the University Hospital, Giessen, "regardless of whether the condition is due to environmental factors, such as high altitude, or to various respiratory diseases".
If Viagra eased mountain sickness, would it also work for breathing disorders?
An eight-day climb, assisted by Sherpa Pemba, whose role is credited this month in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine, was followed by a further week's acclimatisation.
The volunteers then took one Viagra or a placebo on one day and another the following day. The researchers found the climbers had significantly reduced lung blood pressure during exercise and at rest while they were taking the active drug.
As well as increasing their ability to exercise, Viagra made their hearts work more efficiently. It increased headaches in two of the participants but did not cause any other unwanted side-effects.
Viagra lifts altitude endurance
By Julie Robotham, Medical Editor
August 6, 2004
Page Tools
Email to a friend Printer format
The little blue pills have been responsible for some swift ascents. But rarely, if ever, has Viagra scaled the 5400-metre heights to the Mount Everest base camp, where fear of frostbite usually keeps vulnerable parts of the anatomy well under wraps.
German doctors had hoped the erectile-dysfunction drug, which dilates blood vessels, would lower the dangerous high blood pressure in the lungs that people experience at high altitude.
And - at least for the 12 male and two female mountaineers in their experiment - it succeeded, dramatically increasing their ability to exercise while they became accustomed to the lower oxygen levels.
Capacity to exercise was reduced when people were starved of oxygen, said Hosseln Ghofrani, from the University Hospital, Giessen, "regardless of whether the condition is due to environmental factors, such as high altitude, or to various respiratory diseases".
If Viagra eased mountain sickness, would it also work for breathing disorders?
An eight-day climb, assisted by Sherpa Pemba, whose role is credited this month in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine, was followed by a further week's acclimatisation.
The volunteers then took one Viagra or a placebo on one day and another the following day. The researchers found the climbers had significantly reduced lung blood pressure during exercise and at rest while they were taking the active drug.
As well as increasing their ability to exercise, Viagra made their hearts work more efficiently. It increased headaches in two of the participants but did not cause any other unwanted side-effects.