ePillz.com - Viagra Increases the Release of “Love Hormone”

Viagra Increases the Release of “Love Hormone”

August 23, 2007

- The University of Wisconsin-Madison –

The scientists from the University of Wisconsin-Madison say that Viagra not only pumps blood into the male penis to maintain its erection, but also increases the release of oxytocin, a hormone, which is also known as “love hormone” or “cuddle chemical”. The researchers came to such a surprising conclusion after conducting a study on the influence of sildenafil, which is the key ingredient of Viagra, on the release of oxytocin.

Oxytocin is produced by the hypothalamus and released into the blood flow from the pituitary gland, a small structure in human brains, which regulates the level of hormones in response to neural signals or stimulations. This hormone is called a “love hormone”, because it is released in large amounts during orgasm in both sexes. Furthermore, oxytocin is released in women during labor or after stimulation of the nipples. Scientists also think that oxytocin release may be important for the formation of trust between people.

The study author Meyer Jackson, a physiology professor at the UW-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health, says that their finding is the first indication that Viagra and other anti-impotence medications improve men’s sexual performance not only by physical increase of blood flow to sexual organs, but also by interacting with the chemical and hormonal mechanisms inside the human body.

The point is that the release of oxytocin is regulated by enzyme, called phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE-5), the same chemical which also blocks the blood flow to penis. Scientists explain that PDE-5 enzyme works like a breaking system, limiting the release of certain hormones in the body and limiting penis erection.

Medications like Viagra inhibit the activity of PDE-5 enzymes and, consequently, increase the blood flow to the penis and, as the recent study shows, stimulate the release of “love hormone” from the pituitary gland.

What is even more interesting, the researchers found out that Viagra did not affect the release of oxytocin without the stimulation. That means that sexual stimulation is crucial for Viagra to work. The medication will neither promote penis erection nor increase the release of oxytocin without proper stimulation.

On the other hand, the pituitaries responded more actively to stimulation when they were treated with sildenfil. Scientists measured the amount of hormone released by pituitary glands in rats in response to neural stimulation with and without sildenafil administering. The results showed that the animals treated with sildenafil responded to stimulation with releasing three times as much oxytocin as they did without the drug.

"Erectile dysfunction drugs do not induce erections spontaneously, they enhance the response to sexual stimulation," Dr. Jackson says. "The same thing is happening in the posterior pituitary - Viagra will not induce the release of oxytocin on its own, but it will enhance the amount of release you get in response to electrical stimulation."

The finding of the recent study is important not only for scientists and doctors, it is also important for people, treated with Viagra. Now it is clear that the medication does not physically promote penis erection, it also affects the emotional condition of people, and thus improves the quality of sexual life.

Nick