Originally published March 2 2005
Viagra being tested as possible treatment for stroke
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
After an apparent success in one patient, a Detroit hospital has begun an experiment to see if Viagra can be a good treatment for stroke victims. One woman who tried the drug in 2003 made an astonishing recovery from her stroke, and now hospital officials have won approval from regulators to test it on 84 more patients over the next three months. Doctors are not yet sure why -- or even whether -- the male sexual performance pill was helpful to the first patient.
- Viagra, the top-selling drug that has helped millions of men renew their sex lives, may find new use as a stroke treatment.
- Locked-in syndrome is a rare complication of stroke and brain injury that puzzles doctors.
- Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit began a study this week using Viagra in the first three days after an ischemic stroke.
- The study follows more than a decade of laboratory research at Ford using Pfizer Inc.'s Viagra.
- Ford doctors also used Viagra successfully in a Michigan woman who developed severe complications from a stroke.
- Rene Jarinski, 43, of Owosso was paralyzed with locked-in syndrome, a rare stroke complication, which developed after she gave herself an injection of migraine medicine on July 28, 2003.
- After getting federal approval to use Viagra for a stroke -- through a program that allows nonstandard uses of a drug for compassionate purposes -- Ford doctors gave Jarinski gradual doses of the drug for several months.
- Combined with gains from physical therapy, Jarinski has made a recovery that astonishes her doctor.
- The Ford study is a so-called phase one study, the earliest stage of research, to determine whether the drug is safe.
- In the next three months, 84 patients ages 18 to 80 with mild-to-moderate complications in the first three days of a stroke will be enrolled in the study.
All content posted on this site is commentary or opinion and is protected under Free Speech. Truth Publishing LLC takes sole responsibility for all content. Truth Publishing sells no hard products and earns no money from the recommendation of products. NaturalNews.com is presented for educational and commentary purposes only and should not be construed as professional advice from any licensed practitioner. Truth Publishing assumes no responsibility for the use or misuse of this material. For the full terms of usage of this material, visit www.NaturalNews.com/terms.shtml