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Viagra may aid jet-lagged travelers, study shows
May 22, 2007
The male impotence
drug Viagra may be useful for treating jet lag as well, according
to Argentine researchers who gave it to hamsters made to feel like
rodent globe-trotters.
The researchers manipulated the schedule of turning lights on and
off to induce jet lag in the laboratory animals, they reported Monday
in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Adult male hamsters given Viagra, also called sildenafil, recovered
from jet lag up to 50 percent faster than hamsters that were not
given it, the researchers said.
The scientists stopped giving the hamsters the highest dose they
had been using in the experiment due to a certain side effect.
"However, we used the intermediate dose for the rest of the
experiments because at that dose animals did not manifest the effects
of sildenafil-induced penile erections," they wrote.
Flying across multiple time zones can confuse one's sleep-wake
cycle, resulting in the condition called jet lag, marked by insomnia,
sleepiness and difficulty concentrating.
Researchers Patricia Agostino, Santiago Plano and Diego Golombek
of the Universidad Nacional de Quilmes in Buenos Aires gave doses
of Viagra to the hamsters at night, then switched on bright lights
six hours early to simulate eastbound flight.
They judged how well the hamsters adjusted to the changes by observing
when they began running on exercise wheels.
The drug helped the rodents cope with jet lag only when given before
the equivalent of an eastbound flight, not the reverse when they
delayed turning on lights to simulate westbound travel, the study
found.
The researchers said the findings suggested that Viagra could be
useful to help people cope with jet lag or shift work. They said
the dose needed for such uses could be lower than the one used for
treatment of erectile dysfunction.
Viagra interferes with an enzyme that lowers levels of a naturally
occurring compound that plays a role in the regulation of the circadian
cycle, the body's internal clock, the researchers said.
Source : Yahoo News
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