Pfizer’s Viagra could treat pregnancy complication

Although Viagra (sildenafil) didn’t actually lower mothers’ blood pressure, “it did produce some very significant and beneficial effects on pregnancy-induced vascular adaptation and fetal outcome,” according to senior author/laboratory head, George Osol, professor and director of research at the department of obstetrics and gynecology, University of Vermont College of Medicine.

Osol said that when given to pregnant rats with induced hypertension, Viagra helped arteries of the uterus grow as they should during pregnancy, and increased fetal weights to normal values, compared with untreated hypertensive offspring. Thirdly, and most surprisingly according to Osol, Viagra completely prevented fetal mortality, with no fetuses lost in the group receiving Viagra, compared to 11% in the untreated group.

Urging caution, Osol noted that further study is needed to better understand how and why Viagra aids maternal uterine vascular adaptation and fetal health, whether similar benefits will occur in humans and whether there might be any harmful effects.

Nevertheless, Osol said the findings being reported “are exciting because they suggest that Viagra (or other drugs that inhibit PDE-5, the enzyme that normally inhibits blood vessels’ ability to expand) may have beneficial effects in hypertensive pregnancy and, possibly, preeclampsia.”

Based on these provocative results, future studies will evaluate the effects of Viagra on uterine blood flow changes during pregnancy, and “possible changes in other systems that contribute to normal fetal growth and development, such as placental transport and immune function,” Osol said.