The Invention Of Viagra By Accident

In the medical world, there have been many crucial findings that were made serendipitously. One famous example is the discovery of the antibiotic, penicillin by Alexander Fleming.

Aside from penicillin, one of the most popular drugs to treat erectile dysfunction(ED) or impotence, Viagra was also found in the same way which is by accident. Some might consider this a taboo topic to talk about but the reality is that many families were in shambles due to the husband not able to satisfy the needs of the partner.

Due to that, the discovery of Viagra or medications that will help with this problem is an important aspect of the medical field.

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Original Research Involving Sildenafil

Viagra was the first oral medication used for ED and was developed accidentally by a scientist from Pfizer Laboratories. It was also given approval for this use by the FDA(U.S. Food and Drug Administration) on 27 March 1998.

For the past 20 years, it has become an important medication used by as many as 62 million men across the globe. The US army has spent $41.6 million each year for procuring Viagra and starting from 2012 and onwards, US, Mexico, and Canada spent $1.4 billion just for the medication every year.

However, this figure is expected to fall in the coming years due to Pfizer's patent that expired in 2020.

Despite Viagra becoming very popular today, the scientists that discovered it was never intentionally searching for them. Sildenafil which is the active ingredient in Viagra was originally made to treat cardiovascular disease.

It serves to dilate the blood vessels of the heart by blocking the specific protein known as PDE-5.

In animal clinical trials, the medication seems to function well as researchers managed to find proof of the blocking of PDE-5. The animal also did not exhibit any dangerous side effects while the experiment was conducted.

So then, it was taken to the next phase of human trials in 1990 to test whether humans can tolerate the new substance.

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Unexpected Effects Towards Human

Everything seems to be going well until one strange thing occurs. Most men registered under the research appear to be lying down on their faces. One nurse reported that many men were shy due to their obvious erections.

That was when they found that the dilated blood vessels are not the ones in the heart but instead in the penis. This ultimately results in the involuntary contraction of the muscles and causes an erection.

From this research, researchers concluded that Sildenafil functions but on the wrong part of the body. And due to that, the pills that solve men's issue was created.

The Permission For Sexual Use

The right scientist of Pfizer, Chris Wayman investigated what truly happens by testing the medication of the sample tissues of the penis of an ED patient. The findings were quite surprising.

The regulating officer approved Viagra to be used in 1998. Before this, there was no oral medication in existence to treat erectile dysfunction. One of the options before was to get an injection or prosthetic implants.

Viagra is expected to work up to 6 hours and even though it did not improve sexual desires, it did help most men in building their confidence by maintaining the erection as their libido increases.

In the first 10 years of the medication approval, almost 30 million men around the world were given a prescription for Viagra with a sale amounting to £1 billion. In Britain, prescriptions for Viagra and other ED medications have increased by nearly 3 fold in the past decade.

Long-term research showed that Viagra and other similar medications did not have any serious side effects. However, young men that use Viagra as part of their lifestyle can endanger their true potential in the future as they become very dependent on the medication.

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Not just that but many doctors did raise their concern about men buying this medication online, placing themselves in a dangerous situation of harmful substance that may be found in the Fake Viagra out there.

It is best to get a prescription from your doctor first before taking any sort of medication that could put you at risk later on.

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