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Viagra linked with eye damage

Date published: 17/01/2006

Impotency drugs such as Viagra may be linked to eye damage, according to new research. The article published in the British Journal of Ophthalmology suggests that Viagra and Cialis may be associated with an increased risk of optic nerve damage in men with a history of heart attacks.

Optic nerve damage or NAION (non-arteritic anterior ischaemic optic neuropathy) is the most common form of optic nerve damage in older US patients. Today's findings are based on a survey of 76 men attending a US specialist eye clinic, half of which had NAION and the other half acted as a control group.

All the patients were asked about their lifestyle, health and whether they had been prescribed Viagra or Cialis. Men with optic nerve damage were no more likely to have taken impotency drugs but men who had had a heart attack were ten times more likely to have optic nerve damage if they had taken Viagra or Cialis before their diagnosis. The authors suggest that the impotency drugs may reduce the flow of blood to the optic nerve, resulting in tissue damage. They postulate that the drugs may heighten the risk of NAION in those with vascular disease, who are already more susceptible.

Physicians are urged to warn patients of the potential risks and patients with optic nerve damage are urged to inform their doctor if they were prescribed Viagra. Today's study is not the first time a link between eye damage and Viagra has been postulated. A group of patients are currently suing Pfizer, the maker of Viagra, over such a link. Pfizer has rejected any liability, saying that there were no reports of NAION in clinical trials and that if there was a link there would be a greater number of cases by now.

But an accompanying editorial by Howard Pomeranz of North Shore Long Island Jewish Health System says that reporting needs to improve. "Some of the reasons that there may not be more reported cases are that physicians and other eye care providers do not ask men about [impotency drug] use at the time a diagnosis of NAION is made," Dr Pomeranz wrote.

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