I was reading the November 2005 issue of AOA News, pg 20, and came across this article about erectile dysfunction drugs and ischemic optic neuropathy. I've gotten questions from patients before about the safety of these drugs, and up until now I've told them it may cause visual changes. But this article suggests something more serious.
In this article, Howard D. Pomeranz, M.D. published a study linking these drugs to blindness. According to Bruce Onofrey, O.D., who is also a pharmacist, Viagra has been connected to NAION.
"The number of case reports of ION per million prescriptions was 25 times higher for Cialis and 18 times higher for Viagra compared to...medication used by people with similar cardiovascular risk factors".
"Dr. Onofrey advises patients taking the drugs to discontinue use if they experience a TIA, visual distortion, migraines, or color-tinged vision."
I guess that's where I'll stand on this until I learn otherwise. Anybody have any other credible information on this topic?
This from Optometric Physician this week:
ReplyDelete"because men with erectile dysfunction frequently have vascular risk factors that may also put them at increased risk for NAION, a causal relationship is difficult to establish. No consistent pattern has emerged to suggest any long-term effect of sildenafil on the retina or other structures of the eye or on the ocular circulation."
SOURCE: Laties A, Sharlip I. Ocular safety in patients using sildenafil citrate therapy for erectile dysfunction. J Sex Med 2006;3(1):12-27.