DETROIT, Feb. 17 (UPI) -- Detroit's Henry Ford Hospital has launched a safety study of the erectile dysfunction drug Viagra to see if it can help patients recover from a stroke.
The study, launched this week and approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, wants to determine if Viagra will help individuals regain or improve motor and speech skills as well as cognitive thinking.
The hospital will enroll 84 patients in the study. Participants must be over age 18 and have suffered a moderate stroke within 72 hours of being placed in a study group.
Henry Ford Hospital has used Viagra, under a compassionate use basis, on Rene Jarinski, 43, who had a stroke in July 2003. At first she could only move her eyes up and down, but since taking 150 milligrams per day of Viagra she has been able to smile, eat, move all four limbs and stand up with assistance.
