reeves84
July 23rd, 2002, 9:59:22 AM
http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99992578
Viagra is being given to babies and children around the world to try to save them from life-threatening lung conditions. The anecdotal evidence and case studies reported so far suggest the anti-impotence drug is a promising treatment for pulmonary hypertension (PHT) in both children and adults............
"There are circumstances in which it is morally justifiable to try new treatments when there is an impression that a drug may save a life. But the danger of doing so without a clinical trial is that your impression may be wrong," says Raanan Gillon, emeritus professor of medical ethics at Imperial College London..........
The use of Viagra to treat PHT in babies and children, despite the lack of clinical trials, highlights a much wider issue. It is estimated that 90 per cent of all drugs used on newborns and half the drugs prescribed for children were only licensed for adults, or for other illnesses.
"The problem is paediatric medicine is not a viable market for pharmaceutical companies to invest in because there are far more adults than children with a particular condition," says Richard Nicholson, editor of the Bulletin of Medical Ethics.......
Viagra is being given to babies and children around the world to try to save them from life-threatening lung conditions. The anecdotal evidence and case studies reported so far suggest the anti-impotence drug is a promising treatment for pulmonary hypertension (PHT) in both children and adults............
"There are circumstances in which it is morally justifiable to try new treatments when there is an impression that a drug may save a life. But the danger of doing so without a clinical trial is that your impression may be wrong," says Raanan Gillon, emeritus professor of medical ethics at Imperial College London..........
The use of Viagra to treat PHT in babies and children, despite the lack of clinical trials, highlights a much wider issue. It is estimated that 90 per cent of all drugs used on newborns and half the drugs prescribed for children were only licensed for adults, or for other illnesses.
"The problem is paediatric medicine is not a viable market for pharmaceutical companies to invest in because there are far more adults than children with a particular condition," says Richard Nicholson, editor of the Bulletin of Medical Ethics.......