Canada pulls out of international study after 11 babies die

The Stride study, conducted in a consortium of five countries of which Canada was a member, administered to pregnant women, whose babies do not grow normally, Sildenafil, a drug very similar to Viagra.

was supposed to help women who had major delays in early intrauterine growth for which there is currently no treatment. By dilating the blood vessels, the researchers hoped that Sildenafil would make the placenta work better.

Promising studies, including one in Vancouver, showed an encouraging recovery of growth in some babies without any complications.

Disappointing results

Now the results showed Disastrous in the Netherlands: 11 babies died as a result of this clinical trial.

"[Les chercheurs] found more pulmonary arterial hypertension in preterm infants who were taking Sildenafil," said Dr. François Audibert, obstetrician-gynecologist at CHU Sainte-Justine on the show Midi info .

The clinical trial conducted in 10 hospitals in the Netherlands concerned two groups of women in girt. Researchers prescribed Sildenafil in the first group during pregnancy and placebo in the second group. More deaths were reported in the group taking active treatment

"There were deaths among fetuses whose mothers took the placebo. But we are talking about mothers who are sick and especially babies who are very at risk. So, even with the placebo, babies are still at risk of dying, "says Dr. Audibert.

After seeing the deaths of these babies, studies in Canada were all stopped. The drug has not been directly implicated yet.

Is [les décès] related to this treatment or is it the effect of chance? […] This is a sufficient suspicion to stop the study immediately.

In a statement, the pharmaceutical company Pfizer that manufactures Viagra says "[qu’elle] is not involved in this study and has not provided drugs or financial support for the study. "