Published on July 11, 2005 at 7:05 AM
Viagra, the impotence drug produced by Pfizer, will now carry a warning about the risk of possible blindness, after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved new labelling, to warn men about possible blindness from Viagra and other drugs, for erectile dysfunction.
This means that Cialis, made by Lily and Icos Corp., and Levitra, which is produced by GlaxoSmithKline and Bayer, will also carry new labels.
Although drug company Pfizer said their review had found no evidence of increased risk of blindness in patients taking the drug, they agreed last month to change the labelling on the popular impotence drug.
According to FDA officials it is not known if the drugs do actually cause the blindness, but since May this year, thirty-eight cases of sudden vision loss, known as non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy, have been reported in Viagra users, to them.
The FDA is also alerting doctors to discontinue the medication in the event of a sudden loss of vision in one or both eyes.
The new label says those users most at risk for vision loss are patients older than 50 who have diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol, among other ailments.
http://www.fda.gov
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Posted in: Pharmaceutical News
Tags: Blood Pressure, Cholesterol, Cialis (tadalafil), Diabetes, Erectile Dysfunction, Impotence, Neuropathy, Pfizer, Tadalafil (Cialis), Vardenafil HCl (Levitra), Viagra (Sildenafil citrate)