Viagra for jet-lag?
Posted on May 24th 2007 12:00PM by Rigel Celeste
There may be a prescription for jet-lag coming on the horizon, and from an unlikely source too. Viagra was shown to reduce or prevent time-change fatigue in recent tests on hamsters, which obviously opens a whole new potential way of dealing with the frustrations of long distance travel.The active ingredient in Viagra, sildenafil, affects a messenger molecule that has to do with circadian rhythms and the body's internal clock -- higher doses of sildenafil means higher sensitivity to light differences and faster adjustment to changes.
The tests only included male hamsters, so the next step is "co-ed" testing and then on to mice. But maybe not that far off into the future the nasty side-effects of jet-lag will be curable with a little blue pill.








