ePillz.com - Viagra as a Tool to Study Human Vision

Viagra as a Tool to Study Human Vision

January 24, 2006 - Current Biology –

Viagra may influence the rate at which the visual signals are perceived by human brains. That is the main result of the research, carried out by a group of specialists in ophthalmology from London, the United Kingdom.

As it is known, one of the side effects of the erectile dysfunction treatment in men with a help of Viagra pills (sildenafil citrate) is a certain visual disorder, affecting the ability of patients to differentiate blue and green colors as well as their sensitivity to light. Though this side effect is rather rare among patients, treated with the said medication, the fact still worries many doctors and health-care providers.

Some light has been shed on the way Viagra influences the human vision by the recent research in several London hospitals. A group of scientists have found out that Viagra inhibits PDE6 enzyme which participates in the process of photons decoding into neural signals within the human visual system.

In fact, Viagra has been shown to affect the rate, at which a human can perceive quick, repeated events, such as flickering light. Researchers observed the ability of people to detect flickering light under various conditions and found out that Viagra slows down the speed, at which human brains perceive the flickers.

In all the cases such effect of Viagra had temporary character, varying in severity from mild to moderate. In some cases, Viagra caused double time delay in integrating the visual events by the human brains.

Scientists explain such Viagra’s ability to inhibit certain phosphodiesterase (PDE) enzymes. In fact, inhibiting PDE enzyme type 5, Viagra maintain the blood inflow into male penis, thus ensuring its erection in response to sexual stimulation. Due to this feature, Viagra became the first approved oral pill to treat erectile dysfunction in men.

According to the mentioned research, Viagra may inhibit another PDE enzyme, namely type 6, which participates in human visual system performance. It is interesting to note that the researchers emphasize not the potential of Viagra to cause visual disorders, but its ability to offer a unique and safe tool for scientists to study human vision.

So, according to this research results, Viagra is something more than a pioneer medication in treating erectile dysfunction, but it may also become a valuable tool to study the internal mechanisms and processes of human vision functioning.

Nick

External resources
http://www.current-biology.com
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=36571