Optic Nerve Damage Linked to Viagra, Cialis
From Times Staff and Wire Reports
Impotence drugs such as Viagra and Cialis can increase the risk of eye damage in men who have a history of heart disease or high blood pressure, researchers reported Tuesday in the British Journal of Ophthalmology.
In a small study, scientists at the University of Alabama in Birmingham found that men who had suffered a heart attack were 10 times more likely to have a form of optic nerve damage called nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy if they had been taking anti-impotence pills.
The condition is the most common cause of acute optic nerve disease in people older than 50, and can cause permanent vision loss in one or both eyes.
