Washington: Viagra drastically reduces multiple sclerosis symptoms in animal models with the disease, according to Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona researchers.
The research demonstrates that a practically complete recovery occurs in 50 pc of the animals after eight days of treatment.
Researchers are confident that clinical trials soon will be carried out in patients given that the drug is well tolerated and has been used to treat sexual dysfunction in some multiple sclerosis patients.
Multiple sclerosis is the most common chronic inflammatory disease of the central nervous system and one of the main causes of disability among young adults.
A research team from the UAB Institute of Biotechnology and Biomedicine directed by Dr Agustina García, in collaboration with the research team directed by Dr Juan Hidalgo from the UAB Institute of Neurosciences, has studied the effects of a treatment using sildenafil, sold as Viagra, in an animal model of multiple sclerosis known as experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE).
Researchers demonstrated that a daily treatment with sildenafil after disease onset quickly reduced clinical signs, with a practically complete recovery in 50 pc of the cases after eight days of treatment.
Scientists observed how the drug reduced the infiltration of inflammatory cells into the white matter of the spinal cord, thus reducing damage to the nerve cell`s axon and facilitating myelin repair.
The study has been published in Acta Neuropathologica.
ANI
