When you purchase through links on our site , we may make an affiliate commission . Here ’s how it works .
Earlier this week , a study come to a surprising and heartrending halt . A Dutchdrug triallooking into the effects of sildenafil — the generic interpretation of Viagra — on a rare but serious foetal - growth condition was turn out short after 11 babe , wear to mother who had conduct the drug while pregnant , die , The Guardian reported yesterday(July 24 ) .
But why were meaning women given the drug to start with ?
Although using a men ’s erectile - dysfunction drug for pregnancy problems may sound strange , the peculiar intervention — and investigations into how it can help this particular foetal - development condition — has actually been around for old age . [ 7 Ways Pregnant Women Affect Babies ]
Viagrais in the family of medicinal drug known as vasodilators , mean it opens up roue vessel , increase blood flow . The effect can give men a boost when they need more blood flow to a particular area . And under the set of conditions that the Dutch research squad study , boosting a fraught fair sex ’s blood flow tothe placentacould have really helped the foetus .
The test was focused on significant adult female with fetus that had a shape called early - onset fetal growth limitation . Simply put , the condition basically means there is n’t enough line flow to the placenta , said Dr. Ahmet Baschat , the director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Fetal Therapy at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine . This can take place either because the mother ’s blood vessel are n’t providing enough blood line to the placenta , or because the baby ’s origin watercraft ca n’t bring forth healthy blood flow . Either way , the result is the same : The amount of oxygen and nutrient flow to the fetus is very low .
The condition is uncommon — Baschat said he estimates that between 0.5 and 0.8 pct of gestation are dissemble — but serious . " [ The placenta ] loses ability to play right smart before due date , " Baschat severalise Live Science , and mother often give birth early , between 24 and 32 weeks . Only about 40 to 50 percent of those sister live on . ( Indeed , among the woman in the trial who were in the command chemical group — meaning they did n’t get the drug — nine of the babies died . )
But , every extra sidereal day that a baby remains in a healthy uterus , Baschat say , add together an extra 2 percent likeliness of survival . " Nothing beats gaininggestational age , " he say . So , if sildenafil were able-bodied to open up the origin vessel connecting mother and foetus and ensure the babe stayed in the womb longer , it could comfort the consequences of a status that ’s otherwise untreatable .
However , increasing lineage catamenia to the fetus is n’t the only ground a pregnant charwoman might take sildenafil . Dr. Uri Elkayam , a prof of cardiology and obstetrics and gynaecology at the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California , tell that he dictate sildenafil to big mothers with pneumonic arterial hypertension — a consideration where blood pressure in the lungs is too high . Unlike fetal growth limitation , however , this lung problem can also take place in patients who are n’t fraught . [ Viagra blend in Generic : 5 Interesting Facts About the ' Little Blue Pill ' ]
But “ recently , management [ of the condition in pregnant fair sex ] has admit sildenafil , and in general , it has been useful , ” Elkayam told Live Science . Along with a few other medicine , sildenafil has prolonged the life expectancy of mother with this pulmonary problem , though Elkayam said he suspects that until the exact reason behind the recent deaths seen in the study is figured out , its final result will drastically modify how he and other doctor order the drug .
Indeed , the exact reason is unclear . Baschat say that he is also curious to see what prescribed conclusion the Dutch research team arrive at regarding the cause of these deaths . The report was part of an internationalinvestigationinto how sildenafil could help with fetal growth restriction , and the prior research — also done in human beings — foundthat the medicine did n’t improve circumstances or extend how long the fetus was in the womb . That earlier research did conclude , however , that the drug was safe to give to fraught women .
" The query I have is : If somebody does a trial and it shows a negative result , why would you then do another test ? " Baschat sound out . It might fall to light that some other factors contributed to the surprising number of deaths in this written report , but " ultimately , it ’s important to portion out exact details — we demand to know what happen , " he said .
in the beginning put out onLive Science .
