Sildenafil to relieve Lung Fibrosis Sufferers?

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis causes humans lungs to become stiff and increasingly thick, reducing the ability to breathe. There is little known treatment, and there is no known cause according to researchers. And even more devastating is that most people diagnosed with it only live another 3 to 5 years.

Robert Goulet, Evel Knievel, and Jerry Lewis are well known celebrities who all suffered from Lung Fibrosis. Right now, there are approximately 150,000 people in the US and about 5 million worldwide diagnosed with the disease. No proven therapy can help these people except a lung transplant which makes survival very limited.

Dr. David A. Zisman of the Sansum Clinic in Santa Barbara and his research team however have been trying treatments of Sildenafil, the drug used in Viagra, which helps expand the blood vessels around the penis to help sufferers of erectile dysfunction. Since the lung fibrosis disease also causes the constricting of blood vessels in the lungs, Sildenafil has shown to expand these blood vessels as well in some cases.

The study included 180 patients who were randomly assigned either 20 milligrams of Sildenafil or a placebo for 12 weeks. Viagra is sold in dosages of 25 milligrams, but for this test the researchers were using a form sold as Revatio. The main point being assessed was how much improvement could be shown in a six minute walk. Only 10 percent on the Revatio showed and 20 percent or more improvement in the distance they could walk in those 6 minutes.

Breathing imporved with Sildenafil
But, some people taking the Sildenafil did report they were better able to breathe which did increase their quality of life, which is what they are after to see if there is more research that needs to be continued for this treatment.

Pfizer, which markets both Viagra and Revatio, is partially funding this research. The report which was published in the New England Journal of Medicine online on May 18, is to coincide with a presentation to be made in Denver at the annual meeting of the American Thoracic Society in which these findings will be announced.

It may be an interesting way to possibly treat advanced cases of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis to improve their quality of life who are suffering shortness of breath (dyspnea). There has been no relief for these patients in the past, so the research is promising.

This doesn’t mean these patients should be running out just yet for Sildenafil even though it may show a ray of hope, just let the researchers adjust and find a way to best help patients with this condition. Sildenafil didn’t quite meet the end results the researchers were hoping for, but they were certainly encouraged by the relief it did show in some of the patients.

Maybe instead of a cure right now, this disease could be turned into a chronic disease instead of a life ending disease. With higher dosages, or ways to administer the drug, or starting on earlier diagnosed people, there is research to do. Making it a livable disease is far better than the other alternative.