Viagra 'can aid fetal development'

Washington, Feb 4 (ANI): Viagra (sildenafil citrate), which is used to treat male erectile dysfunction, enhances fetal growth in female sheep, a study has found.

Texas AgriLife Research scientists based their study on female sheep because they are an agriculturally important species, which can serve as an excellent animal model for studying the physiology of human pregnancy, the researchers said.

Viagra enhanced blood flow in pregnant female sheep, helping send vital amino acids and other nutrients needed in fetal development, the study found.

The study's results not only will assist with solving fetal development problems in other livestock, but possibly in humans, said Dr. Guoyao Wu, AgriLife Research animal nutritionist and Senior Faculty Fellow in the Department of Animal Science at Texas A and M University.

"Because 5 percent to 10 percent of infants are born as low birth-weight babies worldwide, and because fetal-growth retardation is also a significant problem in livestock species, our findings have important implications for both human health and animal agriculture," Wu said.

The findings appear in a recent edition of The Journal of Nutrition. (ANI)