Babies die after the administration of Viagra at Dutch trials :: Kenya

A Viagra trial in pregnancy was urgently stopped after the death of 11 newborns.

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Women participating in the Dutch study received anti-impotence tablets to improve the growth of their unborn children, because their placentas were poorly developed .

It appears that the drug, which promotes blood circulation, may have caused fatal lung damage in babies.

Experts say that a full investigation is necessary to understand what happened.

There is no suggestion that there were any faults.

The sick babies

Earlier trials in the United Kingdom and Australia and New Zealand found no evidence of potential harm from the intervention. But they also found no benefit.

At this time, in 2010, researchers said that treatment should only be used in trials.

The restriction of fetal growth caused by an underdeveloped placenta is a serious disease that currently has no treatment.

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This may mean babies are born prematurely, with very low birth weight and low chances of survival.

A drug that could improve weight or prolong the delivery time could have significant benefits for these very sick babies.

Dummy Drugs

The last Dutch study, which was to last until 2020, was conducted in 11 hospitals in the Netherlands, including the University Medical Center of Amsterdam.

A total of 93 women received sildenafil (the non-brand name of Viagra) while the other 90 received a fictitious drug or placebo.

Twenty babies developed lung problems after birth – three in the placebo group and the rest in the treatment group.

Eleven in the sildenafil group died of pulmonary complications.

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Professor Zarcko Alfirevic, of the University of Liverpool, who led part of the UK research on sildenafil during pregnancy and who found no benefit in terms of improving growth of the baby, said: "This discovery in the Dutch study is unexpected.