The latest research on the miracle drug “generic Viagra” shows that it may have the potential to treat muscular dystrophy.

Understanding muscular dystrophy

Muscular dystrophy is a form of inherited noninflammatory disorder which is characterized by decrease in the strength and muscle mass. It is progressive in nature and does not have central or peripheral nerve abnormality. It mainly affects the muscles with definite fiber degeneration without significant change in their morphology.

There are various forms of muscular dystrophy but the most common form in the US is Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The incidence of this form of MD is also sex linked as it is more common in males than female with an inheritance pattern of 1 in 3500. As per reports 1/3^rd of these cases occur due to spontaneous new mutations. This is followed by Becker muscular dystrophy with an incidence rate of 1 in 30,000 male babies. The rest of the times are fairly uncommon.

Cause

This disease is caused due to genetic mutation which results in incorrect or missing genetic information as a result of which the body is unable produce the proteins that can help to build and maintain healthy muscles.

Symptoms

The symptoms of this disease are felt during the childhood itself, when the children are barely able to walk. They occur due to wasting away of the muscles which is due to death of muscle cells and muscle tissues resulting in weakness. The fact that this disease has a bad prognosis and eventually causes death adds to the plight of the patients. The appearance of the symptoms differs on the basis of the type of muscular dystrophy. Also as the disease progresses, it gives rise to new symptoms.

• Unsteady gait. This is one of the earlier signs of this disorder as the child may sport an unsteady gait, taking each step with an effort and constantly loosing balance and falling.
• Difficulty in walking – the weakness in muscles causes difficulty in walking. As the disease progresses, the patient may have to depend on leg and hand braces, finally landing in a wheel chair.
• Pain- there may be pain in the calves and muscles of the hands. Due to this, the child may not be able to pick heavy things.
• As the disease progresses, the child may suffer from deformities in the development of bones of the chest and spine and silicosis. This can lead to serious complications such as dyspnea, decreased mental growth, pneumonia, cardiomyopathy etc.

Study

Studies conducted in October 2010 showed that generic Viagra may have the potential to treat the heart symptoms of muscular dystrophy. The preclinical study was carried out in Washington and involved mice. These mice were engineered genetically to suffer from symptoms that resembled Duchenne muscular dystrophy. It was observed that Viagra improved the functioning of their heart.

The researchers reported that they are still unsure of the pharmokinetics behind this action, but believe that it can pave way to treat muscular dystrophy in future.

As per the researchers PDE5 inhibitors cannot completely cure Duchenne muscular dystrophy but could prove useful if administered in combination with other drugs.

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