{"id":2296,"date":"2015-03-10T03:43:46","date_gmt":"2015-03-10T03:43:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.viamedic.com\/blog\/?p=2296"},"modified":"2015-03-10T03:43:46","modified_gmt":"2015-03-10T03:43:46","slug":"another-use-for-viagra-soccer-team-takes-it-to-ward-off-altitude-sickness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.edrugstore.com\/blog\/erectile-dysfunction\/viagra\/another-use-for-viagra-soccer-team-takes-it-to-ward-off-altitude-sickness\/","title":{"rendered":"Another Use for Viagra: Soccer Team Takes It to Ward Off Altitude Sickness"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"In
In a U.S. research study, scientists explored the benefits of sildenafil on the performance and health of cyclists and triathletes at high altitudes.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Viagra made history in 1998 as the first of a new wave of drugs that in the intervening years have revolutionized the treatment of erection problems. In the years since its introduction, medical researchers and others have found a growing number of other applications for Viagra and other impotence medications.<\/p>\n

In one of the more recent such developments, the Washington Post<\/a> in mid-February 2015 reported on a novel use for Viagra that had been pioneered by an Argentine soccer team.<\/p>\n

It seems that members of Argentina\u2019s River Plate soccer team found that sildenafil citrate (Viagra\u2019s active ingredient), taken in combination with aspirin and caffeine, helped to alleviate the symptoms of altitude sickness they experienced when playing away games in the Bolivian highlands.<\/p>\n

Altitude Sickness Symptoms<\/b><\/p>\n

The symptoms of altitude sickness brought on by playing at venues more than 12,000 feet above sea level include drowsiness, headache, and nausea. The Argentine team\u2019s formula has been so successful that it has been widely adopted by other South American soccer teams that must often play matches in the lofty highlands of the continent.<\/p>\n

In an interview with Radio La Red of Buenos Aires, Pedro Hansing, team doctor for Colombia\u2019s Millonarios soccer team, said that the sildenafil citrate formula is now the treatment of choice, replacing diuretics, where were previously the preferred mode of treatment.<\/p>\n

Although South American soccer teams\u2019 use of the drug to fight the effects of altitude sickness is a relatively recent revelation, research studies provide scientific justification for this use of the drug. A study published in the June 2006 issue of the \u00a8Journal of Applied Physiology\u00a8<\/a> looked at the effects of sildenafil supplementation on the performance of trained cyclists and triathletes at both sea level and simulated high-altitude conditions.<\/p>\n

Methodology of Study <\/b><\/p>\n

A team of researchers drawn from Stanford University School of Medicine and the Palo Alto (California) Health Care System randomly gave these highly trained athletes 50- and 100-milligram tablets of sildenafil and placebos before exercise studies were conducted.<\/p>\n

In exercise tests at sea level, researchers found that sildenafil — at either dose — had no effects on metabolic, cardiovascular, or performance measurements. They did note, however, that systolic blood pressure readings tended to be a bit lower and heart rates slightly higher during the later stages of sea-level exercising.<\/p>\n

When these same trained athletes performed the exercise routines in simulated high-altitude conditions, the sildenafil, regardless of dose size, had significant benefits on measurements of oxygenation, cardiovascular function, and performance. Because the size of the sildenafil dose seemed to have little or no effect, the published study compares performance by athletes on 50 milligrams of sildenafil to those who were given placebo.<\/p>\n

French Study\u2019s Findings Similar <\/b><\/p>\n

\"In
In a French study, the effects of sildenafil on lung ailments associated with high altitudes were tested in an observatory near the summit of Mont Blanc.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Roughly 16 months earlier, a team of French researchers published a study that also showed sildenafil\u2019s benefits in protecting against lung problems at oxygen-starved high altitudes. For that study, researchers selected 12 normal, healthy men, most of whom were in their late 20s or early 30s.<\/p>\n

According to WebMD\u2019s account<\/a> of the French study, its lead author, Jean-Paul Richalet, M.D., and his colleagues wanted to see if sildenafil was effective in preventing certain high-altitude health conditions, some of which can be life threatening. One such condition is high-altitude pulmonary edema, or HAPE, which occurs when low air pressure and high altitude cause the blood vessels to leak fluid into the lungs. Untreated, HAPE has a mortality rate of 44 percent.<\/p>\n

Study participants\u2019 introduction to high-altitude conditions came in stages. First, they were briefed about the upcoming tests at sea level. Next they were taken to the French mountain town of Chamonix, which sits at an elevation of roughly 3,400 feet in the foothills of the Alps. After a day to adjust to this high altitude, they were taken by helicopter to Observatoire Vallot, which lies just below the summit of Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in Western Europe.<\/p>\n

Monitored for Altitude Sickness<\/b><\/p>\n

During a five-day stay at the observatory, which is more than 13,000 feet above sea level, test subjects were monitored three times each day for signs of acute altitude sickness. \u00a0On days two and five, participants were asked to exercise on cycling machines until they could do no more.<\/p>\n

Half of the study participants were given sildenafil, and the other half received placebo. Those given sildenafil received 40-milligram doses three times a day. Both groups suffered from extreme mountain sickness until the fourth day at the observatory. After one or two days at higher elevations, test subjects in both groups had blood pressure readings that were an average of 29 percent higher than those recorded at sea level. On top of that, participants in both groups complained of stomach problems and dizziness.<\/p>\n

Blood Pressure Normalizes<\/b><\/p>\n

Blood pressure readings in the test subjects given sildenafil slowly began to normalize, and by the sixth day of the experiment, blood pressure readings among this group averaged 6 percent lower than they were before the study began. Among those who got placebo, blood pressure readings remained high, leveling off at about 21 percent above normal.<\/p>\n

\"Sildenafil
Sildenafil citrate, the active ingredient in Viagra, appears to be helpful in treating symptoms of altitude sickness.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In his conclusion to the French study, published in \u00a8American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine,\u00a8 Dr. Richalet said the findings were encouraging, and he encouraged further study to see if sildenafil could replace current HAPE treatment with calcium channel blockers and steroids.<\/p>\n

The encouraging reports about sildenafil\u2019s effectiveness in treating altitude sickness is yet another revelation of the little blue pill\u2019s amazing versatility.<\/p>\n

Treats Pulmonary Hypertension <\/b><\/p>\n

In addition to its well-known use in treating erection problems, sildenafil is also marketed under the trade name Revatio for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension. It combats high blood pressure in the lungs in much the same way it optimizes blood flow to the penis so that erection is possible. The drug relaxes and dilates the blood vessels in the lung, which lowers pulmonary blood pressure.<\/p>\n

In a January issue of \u00a8Science Signaling,\u00a8<\/a> researchers in Pittsburgh announced promising findings from an animal study that showed sildenafil was effective in protecting laboratory mice\u2019s livers from the damage that can be caused by sepsis, which is the body\u2019s systemic inflammatory response to infection.<\/p>\n

May Work in Humans <\/b><\/p>\n

If these results can be replicated in human testing, sildenafil could eventually be used to reduce \u00a8the excessive inflammation associated with multiple organ failure and mortality during sepsis,\u00a8 according to the study\u2019s conclusion.<\/p>\n

Interestingly, sildenafil was originally tested by Pfizer researchers as a possible treatment for angina pectoris and high blood pressure. Though it failed to pass the test as a treatment for these ailments, scientists studying the drug noted that male subjects, some of whom had been impotent for a while, began experiencing strong erections after using the drug. Research on sildenafil\u2019s use to treat angina was shelved in favor of studies to learn more about the medication\u2019s ability to facilitate erection.<\/p>\n

Don Amerman<\/i><\/a> is a freelance author who writes extensively about a wide array of nutrition and health-related topics. <\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Viagra made history in 1998 as the first of a new wave of drugs that in the intervening years have revolutionized the treatment of erection problems. In the years since its introduction, medical researchers and others have found a growing number of other applications for Viagra and other impotence medications. In one of the more […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2295,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_autoblog_aioseo_focus_keyphrase":"","_autoblog_aioseo_title":"","_autoblog_aioseo_description":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2296","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-viagra"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t