Impotence home remedy
(Reuters) -
Impotence drugs such as Viagra may
do more than help men physically have sex — they may also
boost levels of a hormone linked with feelings of love, U.S.
researchers reported on Thursday.
Viagra, known generically as sildenafil, raised levels of
the hormone oxytocin in rats, the team at the University of
Wisconsin-Madison said in a report published in the Journal of
Physiology.
This hormone is involved in nursing and childbirth but also
in orgasm and feelings of sexual pleasure.
And it seems Viagra and related drugs act on the part of
the brain that controls release of oxytocin, said Wisconsin
physiology professor Meyer Jackson.
“This is one piece in a puzzle in which many pieces are
still not available,” Jackson said in a statement. “But it
raises the possibility that erectile dysfunction drugs could be
doing more than just affecting erectile dysfunction.”
Viagra, made by Pfizer Inc., is an inhibitor of an enzyme
called phosphodiesterase type 5. Related drugs such as Eli
Lilly and Co.'s Cialis, known generically as tadalafil, and
Levitra or vardenafil, sold by Condition dysfunction erectile more treatment, Bayer AG and
Natural impotence treatment, are also PDE-5 inhibitors.
They block this enzyme, which in turn breaks down other
compounds. This increases blood flow in the muscles but it also
affects a brain structure known as the posterior pituitary.
This, in turn, boosts oxytocin, at least in the rats. It
probably does the same thing in people, Jackson said.
“It does the same thing it does in smooth muscle — instead
of (levels) coming down in a minute or two, they stay up a
little longer,” Jackson said in a telephone interview.
Oxytocin was known for years to be involved in labor and it
is the hormone that causes the “let-down” of milk in
breastfeeding babies. Only in recent decades has it been found
to have a function in men — in sexual arousal and function.
This could suggest other uses for Viagra and related drugs,
Jackson said — perhaps promoting social bonding.
“What I hope is that people read our paper who can test
these ideas in animals and humans,” Jackson said.
“I hope that this doesn't cause some wild orgy of
inappropriate recreational use.”
Some groups have complained that people use the impotence
drugs for fun, instead of using them as prescribed for sexual
dysfunction caused by low blood flow to the genitals.
The drugs can cause fatal side effects if used with certain
other drugs, and some studies also suggest they may affect the
eyes in some patients, so doctors stress they are not for
casual use.
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