Viagra soon to celebrate its 10th birthday!

[5 December 2007 - 08h12]

The famous little blue pill will soon be ten years old! Marketed in France in 1998, sildenafil citrate (Viagra) was discovered by the Pfizer laboratories and patented in 1996. At that time it was the very first treatment for erectile dysfunction.

Originally, however, sildenafil citrate had been developed to treat… angina. But during the course of phase I clinical studies, researchers found that the anticipated effect was lacking. On the other hand, they noticed an unexpected “secondary effect” – that it caused erections. And that was how Viagra came into being.

A vast market had just opened up. In France one man in three over the age of 40 suffers from erectile dysfunction. And each year over 250,000 Frenchmen now take Viagra… which also enjoys the dubious privilege of being the world’s most counterfeited drug.

The new treatment gave rise to immense hope – that it would restore men’s sexual confidence, their sense of well-being, of feeling at ease with themselves and comfortable about life. Competition to the new drug quickly mounted. In 2003, Cialis (tadalafil) and Levitra (vardenafil) were approved for sale. And although Viagra was the first of these drugs, it is no longer the market leader. It has now been overtaken both in France and worldwide.

Used in the treatment of acute pulmonary hypertension – particularly in infants – Viagra could also, according to British researchers, prove useful against Crohn’s disease. In fact, sildenafil citrate is what pharmacologists call a “nitrogen giver”. By providing the body with nitrogen monoxide – which is in fact a highly toxic pollutant – this drug and others of the same class produce a number of effects, on blood pressure in particular. They cause dilation of the blood vessels of the penis and hence penile erection. Which is also why there are warnings about use for those with a history of heart problems or other cardiac risk factors.

In conclusion, it is worth mentioning that these “nitrogen givers” exist in Mother Nature too. Fireflies, for example, depend on them for their courting rituals. It is the production of nitrogen monoxide (NO) that gives fireflies their luminescence, allowing them to glow in our gardens. A kind of glow-worm’s Viagra, in a way…

>> Cet article est aussi disponible en français

© 1996-2012 Destination Santé SAS - All Rights Reserved. No information contained on this server can be reproduced or retransmitted without prior written consent of Destination Santé. Offenders will be prosecuted in consideration of articles L 122-4 and L 335-3 of the Code of Intellectual Property, allowing up to two years' imprisonment and a 150,000 euros fine.