Monday, May 23, 2011

If your myelin is erect for more than 4 hours

Contact your neurologist.

A recent study found that administering sildenafil to animals with symptoms of multiple schlerosis can reduce damage to the nervous system.


If given shortly after disease onset, the scientists say they observed the drug reduced the infiltration of inflammatory cells into the white matter of the spinal cord, reducing damage to the nerve cell's axon and facilitating myelin repair

The optimist in me sees hope for people who suffer from a crippling disease.  Sildenafil has been in wide use for years, so the side effects are well known.  Taking it for MS would probably be as safe as taking it for sexual disfunction.  A friend of my family died slowly from MS, so any treatment that could give these people a few more years of life is a good thing.

The cynic in me notices that Viagra will be going off patent early in 2012, so Pfizer might be looking at a way to extend their revenue stream.  I wouldn't be surprised if a new MS treatment wasn't brought to market soon which combines sildenafil with another MS drug, and therefore can be patented.

Hopefully this research leads to a new treatment for MS.   And if the quality of life for patients is improved, then who can begrudge the company who brought the drug to market from making a few more shekels?

1 comment:

Nancy R. said...

Oooh ... my brother was diagnosed with Primary Progressive MS last year. I will be passing this on to him.

Thanks!

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