A UK woman has become pregnant after taking the anti-impotence drug Viagra during fertility treatment, her doctor announced last week. Dr Mohammed Taranissi, head of the Assisted Reproduction and Gynaecology Centre, London, said his patient had been trying to get pregnant for six years, and had undergone two unsuccessful IVF attempts.
Some women have fertility problems because they have thin womb linings, which prevents healthy embryo from implanting. Viagra is thought to work by increasing blood flow and thickening the walls of the womb. The approach was developed in America, where two women treated with Viagra gave birth to healthy babies earlier this year.
'As far as I know, I am the only person in Britain doing this' said Dr Taranissi. But he added that a lot more women needed to be treated to get any meaningful result.
Dr Richard Kennedy, head of the British Fertility Society, said it was an interesting development. 'However, I would like to see more evidence of its efficacy in proper clinical trials before recommending it to patients with this problem', he added.
