A trial involving sildenafil, better known as Viagra, was halted last July after the deaths of 11 babies. The drug was given to 93 pregnant women whose fetuses had severe abnormal growth, according to a statement from the Amsterdam University Medical Center, the hospital leading the research. Researchers had hoped the medicine, typically used to treat erectile dysfunction and high blood pressure in adults, would increase placental blood flow and encourage fetal growth, says Marc van den Broek, science communication officer at the hospital. The newborn deaths, from lung disease, could be linked to an adverse reaction to the medicine, he says.
Neil Bromhall/Science Source
Many women with early stage breast cancer don’t benefit from chemotherapy, a large international study found.
The paper, published in July in The New England Journal of Medicine, focused on 6,711 women ages 23 to 75 with an intermediate risk of cancer returning after surgical ...
