Male impotence drug Viagra makes it hard for Malaria to spread

The hugely popular erectile dysfunction medication Viagra (sildenafil citrate) has been taken by men all around the world for over 15 years to help stiffen erections for sex, and it seems this very stiffening prowess has been found to be the key element in aiding a decreased risk in the transmission of the mosquito-borne malaria parasite Plasmodium from humans to mosquitoes. In turn, this would then prevent a further passing of the virus to other people.

The findings have been laid bare in a study conducted by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in collaboration with the CNRS, INSERM, Université Paris Descartes at the Institut Cochin and the Institut Pasteur.

How the malaria transmission can be blocked through then use of Viagra was explained by study co-author David Baker, Professor of Malaria Parasite Biology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

He said: “In this new study we show that Viagra, a drug shown to be safe in humans, can make the sexual forms of the malaria parasite stiff.

“This causes them to be inactivated in the spleen and so prevents transmission of the sexual malaria parasites to mosquitoes. This is an interesting proof of concept which gives us hope that new drugs could be developed that specifically target the malaria parasite phosphodiesterase enzymes and block malaria transmission,” he added.

Plasmodium falciparum is one of the parasites that triggers the infectious, and sometimes deadly disease malaria. This parasite isn’t always easy to treat, with experts believing the single celled organism is evolving to become more resistant to the most commonly prescribed antimalarials. It is this reason why researchers continually look for other ways to fight the disease.

The parasite develops in a person’s red blood cells, which are emitted by bone marrow into the blood stream. Should a mosquito bite somebody that is already infected, it will extract some of the parasites within the blood and there is a risk that the mosquito could then infect another person by biting them.
As the blood circulates, stiff, old or abnormal blood cells are taken in by the spleen, with the healthier normal cells left to travel around. With the Viagra though, the infected red blood cells are taken in by the spleen – meaning they are not available for mosquitoes to get after biting someone. Sildenafil maintains a signalling pathway within the red blood cells, which results in the molecule cAAMP becoming more concentrated and the cells stiffening.

So far, tests have only been conducted using test tubes and there will need to be carried out with animals. If those show signs of success the next trials will need to involve humans before any medication can be approved for the use of malaria prevention.

The dangers of fake medicines: Let’s work together and counter the counterfeits

A common line that Medical Specialists™ Pharmacy hears is “I can get Viagra for a lot cheaper from my mate at the pub” from men who suffering with erectile dysfunction and are coming to us because we are a fully-registered online pharmacy and a trusted source.

However, Steve down the pub flogging what appear to be ‘Viagra’ tablets, for a fraction of the cost of genuine Pfizer Viagra, is not a trusted source. He is more than likely neither a qualified doctor nor pharmacist, will not ask you about your medical history, for a recent blood pressure reading, or if you take medications for other health problems. For instance, men taking nitrate-based drugs such as Nitroglycerin for heart problems should not take Viagra as the two drugs can cause a sudden drop in blood pressure.

Simply put, this friendly chap you meet in the toilets to buy your impotence pills does not care for your well-being but is looking to make easy money off you. It might seem appealing to save a few pounds to buy from Steve instead of a reputable and established pharmacy like Medical Specialists™, but do you really know what you are even buying?

To counter this, Medical Specialists™ now actually offer Sildenafil Teva and Sildenafil Actavis, two erectile dysfunction medications that contain the same active ingredient as the more expensive Pfizer Viagra, but for substantially less in price. Why purchase an unknown product from an unreliable means when you can spend a similar amount for the aforementioned Sildenafil brands and can rest assured you are receiving UK-manufactured medicines, with your consultation questions assessed our GMC-registered doctors who actually do care about your health. Prices for Sildenafil Teva from Medical Specialists™ works out from as little as £2.69 (based on pack of 4 x 25mg tablets on private prescription).

Ingredients in cheap Viagra-like tablets are likely to be of poor quality, expired, or many not even contain any Sildenafil Citrate whatsoever (Viagra’s active ingredient).  This can result in very little, if any at all, improvement in your erections or potentially deadly consequences from taking the cheaper knock-off. On the other end of the scale, tablets with unregulated higher doses are highly dangerous. Super-potent drugs with more than a safe level of Sildenafil Citrate could result in a heart attack.
You may also be shocked and disgusted to learn about some of the ingredients that have previously been found in confiscated counterfeit Viagra include:

. Antifreeze.
. Blue printer ink.
. Cyanide (sometimes used in rat poison).
. Drywall and plaster.
. Dye to replicate genuine Viagra’s texture and colour.
. Speed or amphetamine.

If all that isn’t enough to raise eyebrows, it’s how these drugs are made which is equally shocking. Steve in the pub may have seemingly real-looking blue ‘Viagra’ pills, but he will not tell you about the processes to produce them, and probably doesn’t know himself. Within the dirty, grotty warehouses where these pills are made, there lies the danger of potential toxicity from heavy metals and other unknown ingredients, not the risk of bacterial and fungal infection from the pills being produced in unhygienic conditions.

Could Viagra really be used to treat period pain?

Since it burst onto the market in 1998, sildenafil citrate (sold under the brand name Viagra at the time), has injected a boost into the love lives of couples around the world.

In the subsequent 15 years, the treatment has been explored for other purposes besides erectile dysfunction and has been found to be effective for pulmonary hypertension (marketed under the name Revatio for this condition).

Moreover, clinical trials have shown the impotence drug to be beneficial for people with raynaud’s phenomenon, with Viagra helping blood supply to the fingers, toes, or both, which become pale, cold, and painful, and Viagra has also shown to have an impact in high altitudes for mountain sickness, enabling people to exercise in places with a low level of oxygen.

However, a team of researchers have now discovered yet another troublesome health complaint that sildenafil may work wonders for, and shockingly it is not a male-related problem. Yes fellas, soon you may find yourself having to share your little blue pills with the other half!

Penn State College of Medicine researchers joined forces with fellow researchers at Nova Gradiska General Hospital in Croatia, who assessed 25 women, aged between 18 and 35, all experiencing primary dysmenorrhea at moderate to severe levels.

Dysmenorrhea – more often simply known as ‘painful periods’ can be segregated into primary and secondary dysmenorrhea, with primary being the most common. This is where there is no underlying problem of the womb, usually afflicting teenagers and women in their early 20s.

Symptoms of primary dysmenorrhea are commonly felt after around 6 to 12 months of periods that are painless, with many women feeling a cramp in their lower abdomen, back and thighs. Sometimes this is accompanied with a feeling of fatigue, nausea, diarrhoea and vomiting. Many women find their menstrual cramps start about 1 or 2 days after bleeding.

Unless the cause is related to an underlying health condition, the majority of cases of primary dysmenorrhea occur when the blood supply to the womb has been stopped because the muscular wall of the womb has contracted. With no oxygen, the tissues in the womb emit chemicals that are responsible for the pain that follows.

For the study, the participants were randomly selected to either receive a dose of 100mg sildenafil citrate, administered vaginally for the purpose of the study, or a placebo. Over the next 4 hours the women then documented any improvements in respect of their pain subsiding.

Generally, it was found that those who received the sildenafil citrate reported less pain compared to the women taking a placebo, with no side effects.  The researchers involved in the study say that the increase in blood flow is most likely causing the alleviation of pain, but because both the sildenafil and placebo increased, they admit they are not certain of the exact reason for the sildenafil decreasing the pain.

“If future studies confirm these findings, sildenafil may become a treatment option for patients with PD [primary dysmenorrhea],” study researcher Richard Legro, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology and public health sciences at the university, said in a statement.

Professor Legro added: “Since PD is a condition that most women suffer from and seek treatment for at some points in their lives, the quest for new medication is justified.” Currently, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as ibuprofen, are usually the preferred choice to ease the pain associated with severe menstrual cramps.

Israeli soldiers are to be provided with Viagra

Israeli armed forces are used to highly demanding orders and expectations from the Israel defence ministry. However, the soldiers’ performance in other areas will soon be boosted after the defence ministry ordered supplies of the erectile dysfunction medication Viagra for its troops.

According to Haaretz newspaper in Israel, “1,200 tablets of 100 mg sildenafil citrate, the active ingredient in Viagra,” has been requested and will be provided as a treatment for soldiers with sexual performance problems. The sildenafil tablets have been asked for specifically for soldiers, and not for any other personnel such as defence ministry employees.

However, this request for sildenafil citrate may surprise many as the Israeli Army have not always been so generous to active duty soldiers who are seeking help in that department. Haaretz mentions that in 2005 the Israeli Army forbid those in its Air Force from taking Viagra prior to any flights in case any blurred vision was experienced.

The sildenafil tablets are amongst a long list of 105 items being sought by defence chiefs who are usually more occupied with procuring the most up-to-date military hardware. Other items which feature on the list include tyres, devices to warm the wounded and sweet chilli sauce.

The defence ministry decided not to provide a comment on the tender, citing privacy concerns. There should be no embarrassment though, Viagra’s popularity as a treatment for erectile dysfunction has skyrocketed around the globe since its launch 15 years ago and indeed, the United States Department of Defense (DOD) have spent a huge amount of money on helping soldiers overcome the same problem.

An investigation by Texas newspaper The Austin American-Statesmen, actually found the DOD spent over $380 million on erectile-dysfunction drugs during 2002 to 2012.

Previously, the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) are also believed to have sought another erectile dysfunction drug – ‘the weekend pill’ Cialis – for helping to keep pilots more alert and awake when during flights at high altitudes.

This followed a study of 51 Israeli mountaineers who attempted to climb Mount Kilimanjaro, said that they had reduced altitude sickness when they took Cialis. Interestingly, the majority of those who were taking Cialis also managed to reach the summit of Kilimanjaro.

It is not just Cialis that has demonstrated other uses though, and the potential of Viagra seems to know no limits as the ‘little blue pill’ shows proficiency in many other areas than male impotence.  For example, studies have suggested Viagra could help to boost baby growth in the womb, fight obesity and even help plants to grow.

NHS prescriptions surge to 1 billion in a single year

An incredible milestone has been reached, with a record 1 billion NHS prescriptions dispensed within a single year for the first time ever in England, according to new statistics compiled by the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC).

The figure was met during 2012 across England and represents a 62% surge from the previous decade, when 383.5 million items were dispensed. The billion prescriptions dispensed is the equivalent of 2.7 million items each a day, or over 1,900 a minute.

Other figures in a report released by the HSCIC show that on average the NHS dispensed 18.7 items per person in 2012, whilst in 2002 it was just 12.4 per person. Moreover, the net cost per item has dropped from £11.10 in 2002 to £8.50 in 2012.

It is believed that an increasingly large and aging population are behind the increase in prescriptions as well as more patents beginning to expire and inexpensive generic alternatives becoming available.
For example, the net cost of the cholesterol-boosting medication atorvastatin (marketed as Lipitor by U.S. Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer) dramatically dropped during 2011 and 2012 from £310.9 million to £166.6 million.

Since then, Pfizer have also lost the UK patent for Viagra, meaning certain other pharmaceutical companies are able to produce an erectile dysfunction medication that contains Viagra’s active ingredient sildenafil citrate, at a significantly lower cost to the patient. Sildenafil Teva and Sildenafil Actavis are two such examples to emerge since the UK Viagra patent ended on June 21.

In what could be a testament to Britain’s burgeoning obesity crisis, for the sixth consecutive year diabetes prescriptions were the biggest cost by treatment area, costing £768 million in 2012 – representing a 2.2% (£16 million) increase from 2011.

Since 1996 the number of people diagnosed with diabetes in the UK has risen from 1.4 million to 2.9 million, of which an estimated 90% are believed to have type 2, which can be caused by either being overweight or obese. Health experts predict that by 2025 5 million people in the UK will have diabetes.

Commenting on the prescription increase, HSCIC chairman Kingsley Manning said: “For the first time, one billion prescription medicines have been dispensed to our communities in just one year. This figure reflects a continuing upward trend in prescription numbers, which is in contrast to a recent fall in total net cost. Total costs have fallen for the second year running and are now at 2009 levels. Our report shows that, while people on average now receive more prescription items, the cost of these per head has dropped in the last two years.”

However, the figures also demonstrate a ‘notable’ rise in the number of antibiotics prescribed – which is causing huge concern. The Government’s chief medical officer has previously spoken of fear that the body’s increasing resistance to antibiotics is one of the biggest threats to modern health.

Professor Dame Sally Davies said many drugs are unnecessarily dished out for mild infections or illnesses and this helping to create a resistance to them, warning that even routine operations such as hip replacements could become fatal if we lose the ability to fight off infection.

Scientists say Viagra could help to tackle obesity

Erectile dysfunction (ED) medications such as Viagra and Cialis are obviously known for their potency in helping men to achieve and maintain an erection that is satisfactory for sex. It must worth bearing in mind however that Viagra was initially developed at Pfizer’s Kent research facility many years ago as a treatment therapy for hypertension (high blood pressure) and angina pectoris (a symptom of ischaemic heart disease). It was only following clinical trials it was discovered that Viagra had significant effects of erections, and ironically rather ineffective for angina treatment like first anticipated.

With this in mind, scientists over the years have long wondered if sildenafil citrate (Viagra’s active ingredient) could work at treating any other health conditions, and studies are regularly carried out to determine what other uses it may have.

In 2012 TV gardener David Domoney claimed that simply crushing a 50mg tablet up and placing just a fraction of this into the water, could dramatically increase the life of flowers. Whereas others are adamant that Viagra’s positive impact on blood flow may be taken advantage of for athletes, with evidence to suggest that Viagra can boost performance levels in certain sports.

The latest clinical study into the wonders of Viagra has now unearthed the possibility that its active ingredient may be utilised in the obesity epidemic that is particularly problematic here in the UK and the U.S. too.

Researchers from the University of Bonn and the Max Planck Institute for Heart and Lung Research in Germany were the ones who made the discovery, and now their findings may open up possibilities for the 500 million people around the globe who are classified as either overweight or obese.

Currently, many such people are turning to weight loss aids such as Alli, Xenical, and XLS-Medical, and the German study suggests that their predicament may have been prevented through sildenafil.
Like so many others do, the researchers used mice for study purposes and administered the ED medication to the mice for seven days and monitored the effect (if any) of their fat cells. Amazingly, it was found that the rodents appeared to be resistant to obesity even when fed a diet high in fat.

Sildenafil works by interfering with a signalling chain of the messenger cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP), which allows the inflow of blood and an erection. Alexander Pfeifer, professor of pharmacology and toxicology at the University of Bonn, who led the study, commented why Viagra was chosen in the study, saying: “We have been researching the effect of cGMP on fat cells for quite some time now. This is why sildenafil was a potentially interesting candidate for us.”

Ana Kilic, Pfeifer’s colleague, spoke on their findings after the seven day period, saying: “The effects were quite amazing. Sildenafil increased the conversion of white fat cells, which are found in human ‘problem areas’, into beige ones in the animals. Beige fat cells burn the energy from ingested food and convert it to heat.” As these beige cells also ‘melt the fat’, researchers are now optimistic that Viagra could be used as a powerful weapon against obesity.

If white fat cells are continually getting ‘stuffed’ or experience a build-up of lipids, they become enlarged and can synthesize and release hormones which then results in inflammation and a higher risk of  developing chronic diseases.

These inflammatory responses then accelerate cardiovascular diseases. Heart attacks, strokes, cancer and diabetes are then likely following this. However, Pfeifer continued:  “It seems that sildenafil prevented the fat cells in these mice from getting onto that slippery slope.”

How grapefruit can cause fatal drug interactions

Whether you eat the fruit or drink its juice, the large colourful citrus fruit grapefruit would not probably invoke many, if any, concerns amongst the majority of people. For starters, its botanical name is ‘fruits of paradise’, which would automatically hint that it is loaded with a wide range of health boosts. Indeed this is true; grapefruit is incredibly rich in Vitamin C. So much so that just half of a grapefruit provides 46.86 mg, (78.1% of the recommended daily intake). The Vitamin C in grapefruit helps to maintain a healthy immune system, reduce symptoms of the common cold, and can also reduce the severity of inflammatory conditions such as asthma, rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis.

If that wasn’t enough, grapefruit contains chemical compounds called limonoids, which decrease the risk of death from cancers such as breast, stomach and pancreatic, and the fruit lowers the chance of death from heart attack or stroke. This is partly because grapefruit is highly effective at lowering blood levels of LDL (‘bad’) cholesterol, with red grapefruit lowering triglycerides as well. It lowers the bad cholesterol because it contains a soluble fibre known as ‘pectin’ which has been shown in studies to slow down the progression of atherosclerosis; a hardening of the arteries that can occur for many reasons including high cholesterol.

Cholesterol is where a major concern arises in regards to grapefruit. For those suffering with high cholesterol, the majority are prescribed statin medication such as Rosuvastatin (Crestor), Atorvastatin (Lipitor), Lovastatin (Mevacor) and Simvastatin (Zocor). You may not be aware but statins and grapefruit do not mix! Although Crestor is widely thought to be safe, grapefruit can make the active ingredients in Lipitor, Mevacor and Zocor more potent, a combination that could prove fatal.

This happens as grapefruit contains high levels of the flavanoid naringin, which interferes with enzymes in the body such as cytochrome P-450 and P-glycoprotein. Both of these enzymes work at breaking down drugs like statins and many others, into more usable chemicals, which are subsequently moved around the body. However, the compounds in grapefruit cause a drug interaction by inhibiting this metabolism process of the medications in the digestive system, resulting in a build-up of the drug’s ingredient in the bloodstream and causing a toxic poisoning.

The dangerous level of statins in the body may cause liver damage or a rare disease associated with statins, called ‘rhabdomyolysis’. This condition is the breakdown of muscle fibre that then triggers the release of muscle fibre contents called myoglobin into the bloodstream which is followed by kidney failure (where waste and urine cannot be removed) and severe muscle damage.

It is not just grapefruit you need to consider though when taking pharmaceutical drugs. Pomelos and Seville oranges, a type of bitter orange sometimes used in marmalades and compotes, may also cause interactions with medicines.  Be warned that interactions can occur even if you eat or drink a small amount of these fruits and researchers are working to find other types of food that could dangerously react with particular medications.

If you are prescribed any medicines, not just statins, then you should immediately check with your own doctor to make sure that it is safe to consume grapefruit products or indeed any citrus fruits whilst also taking your medication. Your doctor could advise you to completely exclude any grapefruit product in your diet, lower your dose of medication if you are adamant about still having grapefruit in your diet, or possibly advise a different medication for you.
We have mainly discussed the certain statins that can have an adverse effect with grapefruit; however there are many other types of drugs that interact with the fruit. These include:

. Anti-anxiety – Buspirone (Buspar).
. Anti-arrhythmia – Amiodarone (Cordarone), Aronedarone (Multaq).
. Anti-depressant – Sertraline (Zoloft).
. Antihistamine – Fexofenadine (Allegra).
. Cough medicine – Dextromethorphan (Coricidin, Delsym, Dimetapp, NyQuil, Robitussin Vicks and other generic cough medicines).
. Erectile dysfunction – Sildenafil citrate (Viagra).
. High blood pressure – Felodipine (Plendil), Isradipine (DynaCirc), Nicardipine (Cardene), Nifedipine (Procardia), Nimodipine (Nimotop), Nisoldipine (Sular).