Viagra vision link raises red flag

(CNN)—U.S. health officials are investigating reports

That some men who use Viagra and other impotence
Drugs are getting a rare form of blindness.

While it has been known for years that users of impotence drugs could experience short-
term vision changes, seeing green or bluish hues, what raised the red flags is the immediacy
of the drug´s impact and its lasting effect.
In some cases, users are getting visual problems within a short time.
“Well, the patient I just described from 1998 noticed the effect within 45 minutes after using
the drug. Most of these patients experienced this within hours,” says Dr. Howard Pomeranz,
associate professor from the University of Minnesota.
Pomeranz co-authored a study in the Journal of Neuro Ophthalmology, which looked at 14
men who experienced vision problems within 36 hours of taking these drugs.
In his research, he has noticed not complete blindness, but rather a permanent loss of
peripheral vision or a worsening of vision, for example going from 20/20 vison 20/40.
“We have taken this seriously,” Susan Cruzan, spokeswoman from the Food and Drug
Administration, told The Associated Press late last week.
Nevertheless, the FDA and doctors have admitted there is no proven link.
The numbers are extraordinarily small… only 38 Viagra users of the more than 20 million
who take it have come forward with vision problems.
There have also been four users of another impotence drug called Cialis, the pill´s
manufacturers say.
They say the vision loss…known as NAION-has been caused by a sort of stroke affecting
the blood vessels of the eye when they become choked off, eventually causing some of the
calls in the eye to die.
Interestingly, the number of people who get this same type of stroke is about four time higher
for people who don´t take Viagra, the study’s researchers point out.
It may be difficult to ever show a link between these medications and visual problems
because the people who get the stroke in the back of the eye, are also people with high
cholesterol; high blood pressure, diabetes and a history of smoking who are more likely to
have erectile dysfunction and take a medication like Viagra.
“You have same group of patients with the same characteristics who might be at risk for this
very infrequent condition that affects the eyes”, says Michael Berelowitz, Vice President
Worldwide Medical of Pfizer.
Still, if you happen to be one who reads those package insets, you won´t find reference to
visual loss in there.
Pfizer, Viagra´s manufacturer, is talking to the FDA about whether to add it or not.
It already wars the drug should not be used by men with heart conditions whose doctors
have warned them not to have sex.
Also, patients taking drugs that contain nitrates have been warned not to take Viagra
because of sudden, unsafe drops in blood pressure.
Still doctors are advising users not to be too alarmed.

“Well, I think there is some concern, but I don´t think everyone needs to go running, in panic,
to their doctors,” says Pomeranz.
If you have ever had a visual problem after taking Viagra or Cialis, talk to your doctor about
getting your eyes checked.
CNN´s Dr. Sanjay Gupta contributed to this report.

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