Viagra, the popular erectile dysfunction drug, also may help prevent heart damage due to chronic high blood pressure, Johns Hopkins researchers found.
The drug, sildanafil, may boost the effects of a specific protein that protects the heart, which explains why the drug has been shown to improve heart function, according to researchers.
Using mice, researchers first found that the hearts of animals without this protein quickly expanded after a week of induced high blood pressure. The hearts of mice with the protein didn’t grow as rapidly. The hearts with the protein that were then treated with sildanafil showed stronger muscle contraction and relaxation and as much as 10 times lower stress-related enzyme activity, researchers found.
The study, lead by cardiologist Dr. David Kass, were published online Jan. 5 in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.
Heart drug could help cancer patients A drug used to treat patients with irregular heart rhythms and heart failure may be used as a cancer treatment, according to Johns Hopkins researchers.
The drugs, called digitalis-based drugs like digoxin, are already deemed safe by the Food and Drug Administration, said Dr. Gregg Semenza, director of the vascular program at the Johns Hopkins Institute for Cell Engineering. The study was published in the Dec. 16 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
A specific protein, called the hypoxia-inducible factor protein, controls genes that help calls survive under low-oxygen conditions. Areas of low oxygen are common for fast-growing tumors.
Turning down or blocking this protein may slow or stop these cells from growing, researchers said.
In the study, researchers treated prostate cancer cells with digoxin and found the cells significantly slowed their growth compared with untreated cells.
Researchers said more work needs to be done to determine how these drugs inhibit the protein and slow tumor growth before they can be used to treat cancer. The drugs also slow the rhythm of the heart, so researchers much determine the safe dosage patients can tolerate.
– Compiled by Sara Michael
