Entries from October 2007 ↓
October 28th, 2007 — Erectile Dysfunction
Originaly from: Sport - England make life difficult
Marcus Trescothick survived two shouts for leg before, the second of which might have provoked the cautious Asoka de Silva into action.
Vaughan was the more assured, seamlessly carrying on from his superb 81 not out on the final day in Dhaka.
He appeared to be following Sir Len Hutton’s advice that the best way to play fast bowling is from the other end.
The batsmen did not change ends for 12 overs at which point the flagging Mortaza was taken off.
The tourists looked set for a huge total, but it would not be a Test match without an England collapse.
Geoff Boycott’s dictum that the true state of a game can only be assessed correctly by adding on two wickets to the current score does not work for England’s current era.
Trescothick, bored with steady accumulation, took 18 off an over from Enamul Haque Jr and then disdainfully tried to thump Khaled Mahmud over extra over.
Five overs later England were four down and the inexperienced lower order was exposed.
Clarke fully deserved his maiden Test half-century
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Clarke, though, was equal to the potential crisis.
He was passive in his first Test innings and was mindful to be more positive this time.
It worked before tea and for his discipline and perseverance later he deserved his first Test half-century.
Hussain batted like a man out of form, content to survive with scarcely a nod towards entertainment.
Their partnership will probably have a decisive impact on the outcome of the match but close of play was a relief to everyone.
Although England favoured bowling first, Vaughan’s failure to win the toss should work in favour of the new boys, Martin Saggers and Richard Johnson.
They have only bowled 32 overs between them on the tour and will be under less pressure defending a sizeable total than having to justify a captain’s decision on the first day.
Clarke and Hussain ensured they will have plenty to work with.
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October 28th, 2007 — Erectile Dysfunction Drugs, Erectile dysfunction pills, Generic Viagra, Sildenafil Citrate, Viagra
June 12, 2001 — A federal judge ruled Tuesday that Bartell
Drug Co. must include contraceptives for women in its employee health insurance
plan.
The decision marks nearly a year of litigation, sparked when
Jennifer Erickson, a 27-year-old pharmacist, filed suit last summer because the
firm would not pay for prescription contraceptives. She contended that the
policy violated the federal Pregnancy Discrimination Act and sued for sexual
discrimination.
“Although the plan covers almost all drugs and devices used
by men,” wrote U.S. District Judge Robert S. Lasnik, “the exclusion of
prescription contraceptives creates a gaping hole in the coverage offered to
female employees, leaving a fundamental and immediate healthcare need
uncovered.”
The widely watched lawsuit against Bartell became the first
federal challenge to employers who don’t cover birth control.
“We have to determine, does this policy single out women
and put them at a disadvantage because of their potential for pregnancy, and
clearly it does,” Erickson’s lead attorney, Roberta Riley, told Lasnik at a
hearing last month.
However, Bartell lawyer James Dickens told the judge that is
the wrong interpretation of the pregnancy law. Thousands of pages of the
Congressional Record show no mention of birth control, he said.
“The state of not being pregnant was not covered by that
law,” he said. Besides, Dickens said, Bartell’s plans exclude a broad range
of family planning services.
Still, Bartell on Tuesday said it would comply with the ruling.
In April, the company added birth control to its health plans for union-covered
employees and now will “take prompt action” to add the benefit for
nonunion employees, such as Erickson, said Jean Bartell Barber. She is the
company’s chief financial officer and granddaughter of its founder.
“It was never our intention to discriminate, and we had
planned to offer contraceptive coverage well before this judgment,” she
said.
Nationally, women’s groups have been trying for years to force
employers to cover contraceptives in health insurance. While Erickson herself
would be able to afford to pay out-of-pocket for her prescription, she didn’t
think she and millions of others should have to do so. At the time she filed
her suit, health experts told WebMD they agreed with her.
“Contraception is a fundamental part of healthcare,”
noted David A. Grimes, MD. “It’s good, cost-effective, preventive
healthcare.” He is vice president of biomedical affairs at Family Health
International, a nonprofit group in Research Triangle Park, N.C.
At the time Erickson filed suit, about half of all the large
group insurance plans were not paying for any form of prescription birth
control. Only about a third of health insurance plans included oral
contraceptives in their prescription drug coverage. Most HMOs were covering the
pill when the suit was filed.
The debate became particularly charged, however, after the
introduction of Viagra, the male pill for erectile dysfunction, which some
insurers cover.
In December, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)
declared that two employers violated the pregnancy discrimination law by
failing to cover contraceptives — but including other preventive treatments –
in health insurance plans.
The EEOC said the 1978 law protects women against
discrimination because they have the ability to become pregnant, not just
because they are already pregnant.
Congress in 1998 required that health plans for federal
employees cover prescription contraceptives.
Erickson has said she became frustrated when she had to
constantly tell customers that they would have to pay for their birth control
pills — because many other health plans, like her company’s, don’t cover
contraceptives — though many do cover abortions and vasectomies.
Bartell, founded in 1890, had 48 stores in the Seattle area as
of last year and is the oldest family-owned drugstore chain in the nation.
Source: Employer’s Health Plan Must Include Birth Control for Women
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October 27th, 2007 — Erectile Dysfunction Drugs, Erectile dysfunction pills, Generic Viagra, Sildenafil Citrate, Viagra
Aug. 20, 2003 — Levitra has just won FDA approval — a move toward challenging the groundbreaking erectile dysfunction drug Viagra. But what does Levitra have to offer that the little blue pill doesn’t?
The news will hopefully bring more men to their doctors, opening up more conversations about this still-secret subject, says Natan Bar-Chama, MD, urologist and director of male reproductive surgery at Mt. Sinai Medical Center in New York City.
“We’ll hopefully encourage more patients, and also physicians, to be more proactive in addressing this problem,” he tells WebMD. Bar-Chama, who was not associated with the studies, agreed to comment on the announcement.
The Drugs
Viagra, the first pill for erectile dysfunction, was developed by Pfizer, Inc. and put on the market in 1998.
Levitra, co-developed by Bayer Pharmaceuticals and GlaxoSmithKline, takes effect a bit quicker than Viagra — in less than 20 minutes for some men. Also, it keeps acting for about five hours, compared with Viagra’s four hours, the company says. GlaxoSmithKline is a WebMD sponsor. Bayer and Glaxo say Levitra will be available in September.
Cialis, another erectile dysfunction drug in the pipeline, is expected to get FDA approval later this year. Cialis takes effect quickly (in 30 minutes or less), and its effects last about 36 hours. Also, its effectiveness is not affected by food, which has been a problem with Viagra, says Cialis maker Eli Lilly and Company, a WebMD sponsor.
The Mechanics
Levitra has been studied in more than 50 clinical trials involving 5,700 men. In Europe, it has been available since March 2003, and has shown to be effective and safe in treating erectile dysfunction.
Like Viagra, Levitra acts by relaxing muscles and blood vessels in the penis, allowing increased blood flow into the penis, which produces an erection.
With Levitra, onset of action occurs within 16 minutes for some men, between 30 to 60 minutes for others. Viagra starts acting 45 to 90 minutes after taking the pill. “On a practical level, it doesn’t make a big difference. Both time-frames are adequate to engage in satisfactory relations,” says Bar-Chama.
Also, Levitra works well when taken either before or after a low-fat meal, Bar-Chama tells WebMD, but a high-fat meal will decrease its aborption, making it less effective. High-fat meals also hinder Viagra.
For difficult-to-treat men who have diabetes and or have had prostate surgery, both Levitra and Viagra work equally well in solving erectile dysfunction, he adds. However, like Viagra, Levitra is not advised for men taking nitrate drugs (such as nitroglycerin tablets or patches) or alpha-blockers (drugs used to treat benign prostate hyperplasia and/or high blood pressure).
Cialis takes effect in 16 to 30 minutes, and stays active in the body for about 36 hours. Also, absorption of Cialis is not affected by either high-fat or low-fat meals, according to Carole Copeland, a Lilly spokeswoman.
Wide-Scale Problem
More than 50% of men over age 40 will experience erectile dysfunction at some time,” says Bar-Chama.
“And yet, nine out of 10 are currently not being treated. This is a medical problem that significantly affects quality of life, and yet, for the vast majority, there is still a barrier to discussing and getting effective medical therapy. Hopefully, this news will awaken more men, get them to talk to their doctors.”
SOURCE: FDA Talk Paper. Natan Bar-Chama, MD, urologist; director of male reproductive surgery, Mt. Sinai Medical Center, New York City. Bayer Pharmaceuticals Corp. GlaxoSmithKline. Carole Copeland, spokeswoman, Eli Lilly and Company.
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October 27th, 2007 — Tadalafil
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Brazilian and US scientists are looking into using spider venom as a possible treatment for male impotence.
Their investigation follows reports that men bitten by the Phoneutria nigriventer experienced priapism - long and painful erections.
A two-year study has found that the venom contains a toxin, called Tx2-6, that causes erections.
Further tests are being carried out in the US before the substance can be approved for human use.
The results, from the Medical College of Georgia, are expected in a month’s time.
The bite of Phoneutria nigriventer, known as the Brazilian wandering spider, is potent and can be deadly in some cases.
The Brazilian and US researchers interviewed men who claimed their sex lives had improved after a spider attack.
The relevant toxin identified in the venom has been tested successfully on other animals.
So far, scientists believe that combining a version of the spider’s venom with an existing drug for erectile dysfunction - such as Viagra, Cialis or Levtra - could produce better results.
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October 27th, 2007 — Erectile dysfunction remedy
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Science Daily — HOUSTON (Oct. 7, 2004) — A deadly bacterium’s defense against a mortal molecular enemy illuminates the origins and structure of a vital protein involved in human cell signaling, University of Texas Medical School scientists report today in Science Express, the rapid online publication forum for the journal Science.
The paper also details how evolution transformed one of nature’s simplest molecules, nitric oxide (NO), from a toxin to anaerobic bacteria the planet’s oldest life form into a beneficial signaling molecule in higher animals. It also offers an explanation for how the decades-old practice of treating meat with sodium nitrite prevents life-threatening food poisoning known as botulism.
Discovering how botulism-causing Clostridium botulinum detects nitric oxide (NO) sheds light on how NO connects with its receptor protein in humans to govern crucial processes in the cardiovascular, neurological and immunological systems, said senior author C. S. Raman, Ph.D., assistant professor and director of the Structural Biology Research Center in the UT Medical School Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.
“We started by identifying the protein that the botulism bug uses to detect and evade NO,” Raman said. “What we have ultimately shown is how this protein evolved from being part of a protective mechanism into a system that learned to use the toxin to benefit the organism.”
In human beings, nitric oxide binds to a receptor called soluble guanylyl cyclase to make cyclic GMP, a molecule that improves blood flow by relaxing blood vessel walls. Ferid Murad, M.D., Ph.D., professor and chairman of Integrative Biology and Pharmacology at the UT Medical School at Houston, won the Nobel prize for his 1977 finding that NO is the ingredient that makes nitroglycerine beneficial to heart patients. Since then NO has been found to govern many other vital biological functions and became the basis for medications that treat erectile dysfunction.
However, the structural details of soluble guanylyl cyclase have remained elusive, Murad and Raman said. The protein is difficult to crystallize for structural analysis.
During a series of experiments that tracked the evolutionary development of the sensor protein identified in C. botulinum, dubbed SONO for “sensor of NO,” the scientists were able to determine the three-dimensional structure of a related nitric oxide sensor in a different bacterium.
That structure will provide a key to unlock answers to some questions regarding the human NO receptor, soluble guanylyl cyclase (sGC), Raman said. “Having these structures now will help us attack that problem, because we know that this bacterial version of SONO is very similar to soluble guanylyl cyclase.
“If you know the structure of a protein, then you can develop therapeutics targeted to detect specific binding pockets on the molecule,” Raman said. “That may allow us to control sGC activity in the absence of nitric oxide in such a way that we can combat cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease.”
And don’t forget meat protection. The research team showed that C. botulinum uses SONO to detect nitric oxide, and then to flee its presence. “It’s a strange topic for a strict vegetarian who has never touched meat in his life,” Raman said.
Co-authors of the paper are: First author Pierre Nioche, Ph.D., research fellow in the Structural Biology Research Center; Vladimir Berka, Ph.D., senior research associate and Ah-Lim Tsai, Ph.D., professor, both of the Medical School Division of Hematology; and from the United Kingdom, Julia Vipond of the Health Protection Agency, Porton Down, Salisbury; and Nigel Minton of the Center of Biomolecular Sciences and Institute of Infection, Immunity and Inflammation, University of Nottingham.
Note: This story has been adapted from material provided by University Of Texas Health Science Center At Houston. Continue reading →
October 26th, 2007 — Generic Viagra, Sildenafil Citrate, Viagra, Viagra Soft
October 26th, 2007 — Erectile Dysfunction
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BAUTZEN, Germany (AP) - Three German teenagers have been spared paying hefty damages after a court ruled it could not prove an ostrich farmer’s claim that their festive firecrackers made one of his birds impotent.
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Court proceedings in the eastern town of Bautzen ended Monday with a settlement that will see the three pay only euro140 (&36;6,730) in damages for the alleged antics on Dec. 27-29, 2005, of the three youths, aged 17-18. They were not identified by name.
Continue reading →
October 26th, 2007 — Erectile Dysfunction Drugs, Erectile dysfunction pills, Generic Viagra, Sildenafil Citrate, Viagra
To treat erectile dysfunction (ED), you have to lower your blood pressure
first. Some people are able to do that through lifestyle changes alone. Others
need help from prescribed blood pressure medication.
A problem for many men, however, is that some types of blood pressure
medicines can actually cause erectile dysfunction. That may make it
difficult to stay on your medication, especially if your high blood pressure
never caused any symptoms before. An estimated 70% of men who have side effects
from blood pressure medicine stop taking it.
Many drugs used to treat high blood pressure have been linked to erectile
dysfunction. But some are much less likely than others to cause problems.
Certain of the blood pressures drugs may even improve erectile
dysfunction for some men.
It’s known that diuretics (or water pills, like hydrochlorothiazide) and
beta-blockers (like Atenolol) can cause erection problems. These are also the
first drugs that a doctor is likely to prescribe if you are not able to lower
your blood pressure through diet and exercise.
If you’re taking a diuretic, you should stay on your medicine until your
blood pressure is under control. If your erection problem persists, or your
blood pressure goes back up, then your doctor might switch you to a drug that’s
less likely to cause erectile dysfunction. Or, a combination of medications
might work better to control your blood pressure and reduce the risk of
erectile dysfunction.
If you take a beta blocker you may also want to ask your doctor if it might
cause erectile dysfunction. You might be better off on a medication less likely
to cause a problem.
Erection-Friendly High Blood Pressure Drugs
Some families of high blood pressure drugs rarely cause erectile dysfunction
as a side effect:
- ACE inhibitors
- Alpha-blockers
- Calcium channel blockers
- ARBs
ACE (angiotensin converting enzyme) inhibitors — such as Lotensin, Capoten,
Zestril, Prinivil, etc. — widen blood vessels and increase blood flow.
Erectile dysfunction is rarely a side effect, occurring in less than 1% of
patients. There are several different medications in the category. This seems
to be true of all of them.
There are also medications known as calcium channel blockers, such as
Diltiazem, Verapamil, or Amlodipine. As a group, they rarely cause erectile
dysfunction. But erection problems may be less common with some individual
drugs within that group than with others. Your doctor can tell you which.
In general, alpha-blockers do not often cause erection problems either. In
one study published in the journal Hypertension in 1997, a small
number of men actually had a 100% improvement in their erectile dysfunction
after two years on the alpha-blocker Cardura.
Drugs known as ARBs (angiotensin II receptor blockers, like Losarten) are
not only unlikely to cause erection problems, but they may actually
improve sexual function in men with high blood pressure.
A 2001 study published in the American Journal of the Medical
Sciences looked at the drug Cozaar, an ARB. At first, just 7% of men and
women in the study said they felt sexually satisfied overall. After 12 weeks of
Cozaar, about 58% said they were sexually satisfied. The percentage of men who
reported having erectile dysfunction dropped from 75% to 12%.
Another study compared the drug Diovan, an ARB, with Coreg, a beta-blocker.
The study, published in the American Journal of Hypertension in 2001,
compared the effect of the two drugs on blood pressure and frequency of sexual
intercourse.
The drugs controlled blood pressure equally well. But people who took the
ARB reported having sex more often during the 16 weeks of treatment. They said
they had sex about eight times a month before, and 10 times a month after.
People taking the beta-blocker had sex much less often: eight times a month
before, and four times a month after.
Steps to Take If Your Medicine Causes Erection Problems
Tell your doctor if you think your blood pressure medicine may be causing
problems with your erections.
If it is your medication, and not just your high blood pressure,
switching to another prescription may solve the problem. Never stop taking your
medicine without your doctor’s OK.
But high blood pressure itself still could be to blame for your erectile
dysfunction. In that case, ask about trying an erectile dysfunction drug like
Viagra, Cialis, or Levitra.
You should only take these drugs once your blood pressure is under control.
They are not safe for men with untreated high blood pressure. They are also not
safe for men taking alpha-blockers, or men taking nitrate drugs for heart
disease. Continue reading →
October 24th, 2007 — Viagra
Originaly from: Viagra Effectively Treats Enlarged Hearts, Mouse Study Shows page
Science Daily — Researchers at Johns Hopkins have found that sildenafil citrate (Viagra), a drug used to treat erectile dysfunction (ED) in millions of men, effectively treats enlarged hearts in mice, stopping further muscle growth from occurring and reversing existing growth, including the cellular and functional damage it created.
Cardiologist David Kass, M.D., holds a little blue pill of sildenafil citrate (in his right hand) next to a model of the human heart. (Photo courtesy of Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions)
“A larger-than-normal heart is a serious medical condition, known as hypertrophy, and is a common feature of heart failure that can be fatal,” says study senior author and cardiologist David Kass, M.D., a professor at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and its Heart Institute. Kass is also the Abraham and Virginia Weiss Professor of Cardiology at Hopkins.
Sildenafil, Kass says, was the focus of his research because it blocks or stops an enzyme, called phosphodiesterase 5 (PDE5A), involved in the breakdown of a key molecule, cyclic GMP, which serves as a “natural brake” to stresses and overgrowth in the heart. “We thought we could more strongly apply the brake on hypertrophy in the heart if we used sildenafil to prevent the breakdown of cyclic GMP,” he says. The makers of the drug had no involvement in the design or support of the research. PDE5A is also the biological pathway blocked in the penis to prevent the relaxation of blood vessels and maintain erections.
The Johns Hopkins findings, to be published in the journal Nature Medicine online Jan. 23, are the first to show that sildenafil is an effective treatment for a chronic heart condition. It is also the first study to reveal that the enzyme pathway blocked by sildenafil (PDE5A), never before known to play a significant role in the heart, is active when the heart is exposed to pressure stress and hypertrophied. The results provide some of the strongest evidence to date that blocking the heart’s adaptive response to hypertrophy does not harm its function but, in fact, may improve it, Kass says. Already, plans are under way by the Hopkins researchers for a multicenter trial to test if sildenafil has the same effects on hypertrophy in humans.
In the first of several experiments, each involving groups of 10 to 40 male mice, the Hopkins team stimulated hypertrophy for up to nine weeks, but only by half as much in those that had also consumed sildenafil in their food at 100 milligrams per kilogram per day. In mice, this dose produces blood levels similar to those achieved in humans given standard clinical doses.
The mice fed sildenafil also showed 67 percent less muscle fibrosis, a complication that often occurs with hypertrophy, as compared to mice that were not fed the drug. The treated mice also had smaller hearts and improved heart function, whereas the untreated hearts were dilated with weakened function. For all mice with hypertrophy, the condition was surgically produced by constricting the main artery carrying blood from the heart to create pressure stress.
In a second experiment, the researchers used the same dose of sildenafil and examined its effects on reversing hypertrophy that had already occurred. Initially, these mice were exposed to pressure stress for seven to 10 days, with hearts developing fibrosis and muscle growth by nearly 65 percent. After two weeks of therapy, fibrosis and muscle growth almost completely disappeared. In mice that did not have therapy, hearts continued to get bigger.
In a surprising result, the researchers found that heart function, as measured by pressure-volume analysis of the muscle’s ability to contract and pump blood, actually improved after hypertrophy had been stopped and treated. While researchers previously thought that hypertrophy was an adaptive response to pressure stress, the functional gains lasted despite the heart’s continued exposure to high blood pressure. Improvements were seen in more than 10 measures of heart function, including heart relaxation, cardiac output and heart contractility, which increased by nearly 40 percent. These improvements were seen even when therapy was deferred and started two weeks after hypertrophy had already developed.
“This study shows that sildenafil can make hypertrophy go away,” says Kass. “Its effects can be both stopped in their tracks and reversed. Overall, the results provide a better understanding of the biological pathways involved in hypertrophy and heart dilation, leading contributors to heart failure. They suggest possible therapies in the future, including sildenafil, which has the added benefit of already being studied as safe and effective for another medical condition.”
“It also suggests that less but, perhaps, the right kind of hypertrophy can be good for the heart. However, more study is required before we fully understand the benefits of sildenafil on the heart.”
Analysis of several enzymes known to play a major role in triggering hypertrophy, including calcineurin and Akt, showed increased activity and amounts in the hypertrophied heart, but after treatment with sildenafil, their levels returned back to normal levels.
Funding for this study, which took three years to complete, was provided entirely by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), American Heart Association, Peter Belfer Laboratory Foundation, American Physiological Society, and the Bernard Family Foundation. The lead Hopkins researchers who took part in this study were Eiki Takimoto, M.D., Ph.D.; Hunter Champion, M.D., Ph.D.; and Maxiang Li, M.D., Ph.D. Other researchers who took part in this study were Diego Belardi, M.D.; Shuxun Ren, M.D.; E. Rene Rodriguez, M.D.; Djahida Bedja, B.S.; Kathleen Gabrielson, D.V.M., Ph.D.; and Yibin Wang, Ph.D.
Cardiac hypertrophy commonly develops from high blood pressure, which forces the heart to pump harder to circulate blood throughout the body. According to the latest statistics from the American Heart Association, in 2002, 65 million Americans have high blood pressure (defined as systolic pressure of 140 millimeters of mercury or greater, and/or a diastolic pressure of 90 millimeters of mercury or greater, taking antihypertensive medication or being told at least twice by a physician or other health professional that they have high blood pressure). Patients that develop hypertrophy have two to three times the risk of suffering cardiovascular disease, including heart failure and sudden cardiac death.
Note: This story has been adapted from a news release issued by Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions. Continue reading →
October 23rd, 2007 — Erectile Dysfunction Drugs, Erectile dysfunction pills, Generic Viagra, Sildenafil Citrate, Viagra
May 18, 2001 — What’s blue, comes in bottles, costs a hefty chunk of change per dose and is reputed to enhance sexual performance? If you said Viagra, you’re close but no cigar. The stuff in question is an herbal beverage called Niagara (nudge, nudge, wink, wink), made in Sweden and billed by its U.S. distributor as “Romance in a bottle.”
The distributor, Lari Williams, who describes herself as “just a little girl from Arkansas trying to bring romance back to the bedroom” is doing it with the help of Nerve, a magazine that unabashedly peddles itself as “more graphic, forthright, and topical than ‘erotica,’ but less blockheadedly masculine than ‘pornography,’” according to the company’s mission statement. In other words, Nerve aims for a demographic somewhere between Reader’s Digest and Hustler.
Niagara is a fruit-flavored blue-dyed concoction containing carbonated water and sugar spiked with the alleged herbal aphrodisiac damiana (reputed to be a plant estrogen), plus ginseng (a root commonly used in Chinese medicine), guarana (a stimulant similar to caffeine), mat (another stimulant), schizandra (a Chinese medicinal said to have aphrodisiac and stimulant properties), plus as much caffeine as an eight ounce cup of coffee.
Williams tells WebMD that she discovered Niagara at a food and gifts trade show in Dallas last January. “I tried it one night and realized that it definitely had an effect on me, and I told my husband ‘I’m buying 3,000 bottles’ because it was close to Valentine’s Day, and he was going ‘Oh my gosh, no you’re not,’ and I went ‘Yes I am’ and he was just about to kill me. Well, we sold 15,000 bottles in two days. We had to make two trips to Dallas to go pick up more product.”
Williams, owner of a gourmet coffee and food shop in Little Rock, adds that “here in Arkansas we have what we call ‘Niagara Nights.’ People get their six-pack or two or three bottles and walk out the door high-fiving each other going ‘Ooh, we’re having a Niagara night tonight!’”
One of William’s customers, a 45-year-old saleswomen, told Arkansas Times in March that “I usually wear down … I was hanging in there. I was proud of myself … It lights your fire.” Another said, “It made me feel really warm, really sensual, … much more sensitive.”
Testimonials are one thing, but proof is another. Because the combination of ingredients in Niagara has never been subjected to scientific scrutiny, it’s difficult to know whether Niagara actually stimulates the female libido.
“The problem with a lot of these aphrodisiacs — and it’s a problem with the whole herbal industry — is the fact that there’s no validation of the product and it’s not under any kind of FDA control,” says Eloy Rodriguez, PhD, professor of plant biology at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y.
Rodriguez tells WebMD that he previously investigated damiana (which Williams says is the main active ingredient in Niagara), but found no biochemical evidence that it had sexual stimulatory properties. In the book A Modern Herbal, published in 1931 and revised in 1971, Mrs. M. Grieve described damiana as “a mild purgative, diuretic, tonic, acting directly on the reproductive organs, stimulant … aphrodisiae.”
If the claims about Niagara’s effects are unproven, what’s certain is that a lot of people are excited about the product, including Williams, who saw sales skyrocket after her web site was featured on a segment of ABC’s Good Morning America. The Playboy mansion recently ordered more than 1,400 bottles of Niagara, and it’s being hawked on the Internet auction site eBay for $50 per bottle and up (it retails for $29.95 a six pack) says Alisa Volkman, a spokeswoman for Nerve.com. Niagara has popped up on NBC’s Today Show, ABC’s chatfest The View, and the Montel Williams show.
The folks at Nerve and its online incarnation are in ecstasy as well: after they “broke” the Niagara story on their Web site in March, they agreed to develop a Web site for Williams to push the product. They have also just nailed down a film development deal with Revolution Studios, which has acquired the rights to the story for a production company partly owned by Julia Roberts and Adam Sandler, with a script being developed for Sandler, says Volkman, who is also vice president for film development at Nerve.
The folks at Pfizer, manufacturer of Viagra, are pretty worked up about Niagara too. They took Williams to court for trademark infringement, but failed to get a temporary restraining order. In his decision the Arkansas judge was quoted as saying “if men can have Viagra then women should be able to have Niagara.”
For the moment at least, women have their Niagara. Williams assures WebMD that neither she nor anyone connected with the beverage makes medical claims for it, which would be a violation of FDA regulations. In 1989, the FDA issued a statement that there is no scientific proof that any over-the-counter aphrodisiacs work to treat sexual dysfunction, and the agency has issued recall requests of some products with aphrodisiac claims.
“I can only tell people that they must be smart and realize when somebody tells them ‘this is so-and-so,’ they have to rely on [the fact] that the person knows what they are talking about,” Rodriguez says. “Most of the time, they’re just carnival barkers that got fired.” Continue reading →
