login
Become a member
Quick Registration
Full Registration Benefits -
Free Homepages for Doctors
Free Homepages for Hospitals
Free Homepages for Medical Conference
Free Homepages for NGO's
Personal Health Record Creation
Access to all Medical Slides
Access to all Jobs & Products Sale
Viagra may Be Useful in Muscular Dystrophy
Viagra may help protect the hearts of patients suffering from muscular dystrophy, researchers from University of Montreal and Montreal Heart Institute have suggested.
Muscular dystrophy is characterized by weakness and progressive degeneration of the muscles, including the heart muscle. It is caused by a genetic mutation of dystrophin, a protein that acts as the "backbone" of muscular cells.
The study conducted using a mouse model showed that sildenafil protected the heart in mice with Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
"This achievement was a true team initiative and is the culmination of sustained efforts on the part of Dr. Maya Khairallah, who was a doctoral student at the time, and all of the researchers from participating centres," said Dr. Christine Des Rosiers, lead researcher from the Universite de Montreal and the Montreal Heart Institute.
"I'm pleased that my work has sparked interest in an eventual application for humans," says Dr. Khairallah
The researchers explain that the choice of sildenafil was based on their previous studies indicating that the hearts of dystrophic mice do not function as effectively and are more susceptible to stress-induced cell death.
These studies suggested that this might be due to a decrease in the formation of a molecule named cGMP (cyclic guanosine monophosphate).
For the new study, researchers used two different approaches to increase cGMP production in the heart, with the result that the hearts were able to function more effectively and were less susceptible to cell death.
Muscular dystrophy is characterized by weakness and progressive degeneration of the muscles, including the heart muscle. It is caused by a genetic mutation of dystrophin, a protein that acts as the "backbone" of muscular cells.
The study conducted using a mouse model showed that sildenafil protected the heart in mice with Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
"This achievement was a true team initiative and is the culmination of sustained efforts on the part of Dr. Maya Khairallah, who was a doctoral student at the time, and all of the researchers from participating centres," said Dr. Christine Des Rosiers, lead researcher from the Universite de Montreal and the Montreal Heart Institute.
"I'm pleased that my work has sparked interest in an eventual application for humans," says Dr. Khairallah
The researchers explain that the choice of sildenafil was based on their previous studies indicating that the hearts of dystrophic mice do not function as effectively and are more susceptible to stress-induced cell death.
These studies suggested that this might be due to a decrease in the formation of a molecule named cGMP (cyclic guanosine monophosphate).
For the new study, researchers used two different approaches to increase cGMP production in the heart, with the result that the hearts were able to function more effectively and were less susceptible to cell death.
|
|
|
 Comment & Contribute
|
Medwonders Health Network
- Health News Index
|
|
- News Quick Links
 |
Muscular Dystrophy
Complete Medindia Resources
|
| News Categories: |
| » | Research: Bright Colored Chips can Cut Consumption by Half |
| » | Olympic Athlete's Body Via the 80-10-10 Raw Vegan Diet |
| » | Importance of Canned Foods To Help Tackle IOM Weight Of The Nation Recommendations, Highlights Study |
| » | US Rules Pomegranate Juice Claims Deceptive |
| » | Reducing Entrée Size Could Increase Fruit and Vegetable Intake in Children |
| More Diet News | |
|
