The Possible Cardiopulmonary and Cerebral Toxic Effects of Sildenafil Citrate (Viagra) on Adult Male Albino Rats | ||||
| Ain Shams Journal of Forensic Medicine and Clinical Toxicology | ||||
| Article 8, Volume 20, Issue 1, January 2013, Page 72-91 PDF (3.44 MB) | ||||
| Document Type: Original Article | ||||
| DOI: 10.21608/ajfm.2013.19388 | ||||
 View on SCiNiTO | ||||
| Authors | ||||
| Heba Mohammed1; Nabil Rezk1; Zeinab Abdel Haleem1; Safaa Shaker2 | ||||
| 1Forensic Medicine and Clinical Toxicology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt | ||||
| 2Histology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt | ||||
| Abstract | ||||
| It has been asked whether sildenafil safety live up to its expectations or not. Most of the previous studies stated that sildenafil is safe and well tolerated by most users without serious effects. The drug has attained great popularity and widely used even without prescription or as one of the over the counter preparation. So, this work was carried out to assess the possible cardio pulmonary and cerebral toxicities of sildenafil citrate in adult male albino rats. The study included three parts; acute, short term and chronic toxicity studies. At the end of each experimental study, the animals were subjected to ECG and blood pressure recording. Then blood samples were collected for estimation of the levels of enzymes relevant to cardiotoxicity (CPK, CPKMB, LDH and SGOT). Furthermore, histopathological examination of the rats׳ heart, lung and brain was carried out by light microscopy. The results showed evident cardiac toxicity in the form of ECG and blood pressure changes as well as elevated cardiac enzymes. Histopathological changes in the chronic toxicity group were more severe and extensive than either acute or short term study groups. So, it can be concluded that sildenafil caused biochemical and histopathological alterations in the heart along with histopathological changes in the lung and brain that correlated with the duration of administration. It is recommended that sildenafil should be used only on medical prescription. Also, serum levels of CPK, CPKMB, LDH and ECG recording are sensitive indicators for sildenafil induced cardiac toxicity. | ||||
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