Other Uses of Sildenafil
Medical Uses
Pulmonary Hypertension
As originally intended by Pfizer, sildenafil citrate is also an effective treatment for pulmonary hypertension (PAH). A dose of sildenafil leads to a relaxing of the arterial walls and this reduces the pulmonary arterial resistance and pressure. This reduction is resistance reduces the workload of the heart’s right ventricle and reduces the effects of heart failure of the right side.
PDE-5 does not reduce vasodilation in arterial walls of the body other than those of the lungs and penis.
The Food and Drug Administration approved Pfizer’s application for a second sildenafil citrate patent in June 2005, and this pulmonary hypertension treatment is now on the market as Revatio. In the interests of avoiding confusion, the treatment not only has a different brand name, it is also round and white in colour.
Other pulmonary hypertension drugs include those based on bosentan and prostacyclin.
Raynaud’s phenomenon
A study was conducted in 2005 to explore the benefit of sildenafil citrate for patients with Raynaud’s phenomenon. The experiment was double-blind and placebo controlled, and all the patients had stopped all other treatment prior to the experiment. The group contained patients with primary and secondary forms of the condition.
The experiment successfully demonstrated that using sildenafil citrate reduced the duration of Raynaud’s phenomenon attacks by approximately half – or increased the capillary blood velocity by approximately 400%.
Non-Medical Uses
Aphrodisiac
It is becoming increasingly common amongst men without erectile dysfunction problems to use sildenafil citrate as an aphrodisiac. Although there is no scientific research to support the belief, many believe that using Viagra can improve sexual performance.
Longevity of Plants
Sildenafil prevents the degrading of cGMP by PDE5 in both humans and plants. Applying a low-concentration solution of sildenafil to a plant has been shown to dramatically increase the amount of time that a plant lives before beginning to wilt. One particular study showed that sildenafil could actually double the cut plant’s length of life.
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