Investigative ophthalmology & visual science
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Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci. · Nov 2003
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical TrialEffects of sildenafil on retinal blood flow and flicker-induced retinal vasodilatation in healthy subjects.
Sildenafil is a specific inhibitor of phosphodiesterase V, which is widely used for the treatment of erectile dysfunction. Sildenafil has been shown to induce vasodilation in several vascular beds by inhibiting the cGMP breakdown. The present study was conducted to investigate whether sildenafil increases blood flow in the human retina. ⋯ The data indicate that sildenafil increases retinal venous diameters and retinal blood flow in healthy subjects. By contrast, it does not affect intraocular pressure and flicker-induced retinal vasodilation. Further studies are needed to elucidate whether this drug may be therapeutically used in retinal ischemic disease.