Men Warned: Use Of Viagra, Cialis Can Make You Blind

Drugs known for helping men with erectile dysfunction (ED) may come with a higher risk of vision problems than currently thought, the only science and technology newsletter Gizmodo reported.

Photo Insert: In 2005, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) required the makers of Viagra, Cialis, and Levitra to add a warning label about the association between their drugs and ischemic optic neuropathy (ION), a condition that can lead to permanent vision loss.

In new research out Thursday, scientists have documented an association between three serious eye disorders and drugs including Viagra and Cialis. The findings might prompt the need for added warning labels on these medications, the authors say, though the individual risk for experiencing these complications appears to be very small.

Commonly used erectile dysfunction drugs such as sildenafil (sold under the brand name Viagra) and tadalafil (Cialis) primarily work by inhibiting an enzyme known as PDE5 that is found in the smooth muscle cells that line certain blood vessels.

The drugs dilate these blood vessels and increase blood flow to specific parts of the body, including the penis during times of sexual stimulation.

These drugs also can be used to treat high blood pressure linked to lung problems (pulmonary hypertension), and tadalafil is approved to help treat the symptoms of an enlarged prostate.

But no drug comes without some unwanted effects. PDE5 drugs have been linked to vision problems for quite some time, including a few serious complications. In 2005, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) required the makers of Viagra, Cialis, and Levitra to add a warning label about the association between their drugs and ischemic optic neuropathy (ION), a condition that can lead to permanent vision loss.

There have been case reports of other eye-related conditions tied to PDE5 use in the years since. And that made the researchers behind this latest study, published on April 7, 2022, in JAMA Ophthalmology, curious about whether these reports were pointing to a real trend.

To find out, they analyzed insurance data from over 200,000 men who had been taking either Viagra, Cialis, Levitra, or Stendra. Importantly, none of these men had been diagnosed with vision problems prior to their use of these drugs.

But when compared to similarly matched men not taking any PDE5 inhibitor, they were more likely to be diagnosed with ION as well as two other eye conditions, serous retinal detachment (SRD) and retinal vascular occlusion (RVO).

The increased risk of these problems in PDE5 users was apparent even after accounting for other possible risk factors, such as high blood pressure.

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