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Excessive use of erectile dysfunction medication has been associated with irreversible damage to color vision in a 31-year-old man.
Richard Rosen, director of retinal services at the Infirmary for the Eyes and Ears of Mount Sinai (NYEE) in New York, and his colleagues reported the case of the patient who arrived at a health care clinic. urgency because of a glowing vision of both eyes. persisted for two days.
According to the detailed case study in Retinal cases and brief reportsThe man's vision problem began shortly after taking an unknown amount of liquid sildenafil citrate that he had purchased online. Sildenafil can be purchased as a generic medicine for the treatment of erectile dysfunction and under the brand name Viagra.
It turned out that the patient had consumed more than the recommended dose of 50 mg and that his symptoms had manifested shortly after ingestion. He was eventually diagnosed with persistent retinal toxicity, which doctors associated with taking a high dose of medication.
A normal dose of sildenafil citrate can cause visual disturbances, but symptoms often disappear within 24 hours. Unfortunately, in this case, the tinted vision of the man did not improve even after more than a year of diagnosis and initial treatments.
Doctors who examined human eyes found microscopic lesions of the retina cones responsible for color vision.
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"Really seeing this type of structural change was unexpected, but it explained the patient's symptoms. Although we know that colored vision disorders are a well-described side effect of this drug, we have never been able to visualize its structural effect on the retina, "said Rosen in a statement issued by Mount Sinai.
The doctors said that the damage is similar to that of hereditary retinal diseases.
"It was found that the patient had conical photoreceptor damage, demonstrated with the help of an electroretinogram, an optical coherence tomography and adaptive optics imaging." . The symptoms of the patient and the structural changes of the photoreceptors persisted for several months, "the researchers wrote in their study.
The drug has been purchased online. Rosen and his colleagues can not rule out the possibility that a contaminant may have contributed to the condition of man. Nevertheless, the case still highlights the danger of using drugs beyond the recommended dose.
Rosen and colleagues said their findings should help doctors become aware of cellular changes that may occur in patients who use this drug excessively. They could warn their patients of the risks associated with excessive use of the drug.
Other side effects of heavy use include heart attacks and long erections that can cause penile gangrene.
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