Acute effect of ildenafil on the electroretinogram and multifocal electroretinogram

PURPOE: To evaluate the acute effect of ildenafil (Viagra; Pfizer, Inc, New York, New York) on the electroretinogram and multifocal electroretinogram. METHOD: Eighteen healthy individual (age 21–49 year) were tudied; 14 were given 200 mg ildenafil orally and four were given only water. All ubject were teted before ildenafil and 1 hour after ildenafil (or water) with a deaturated Panel D-15 color tet, a full-field tandard electroretinogram, and a multifocal electroretinogram uing the VERI ytem; five ubject were alo teted 5 hour after ildenafil. REULT: Repone from the ubject who received ildenafil were compared with thoe from the control ubject. At 1 hour after ildenafil, photopic ingle-flah waveform were attenuated by 9% and cotopic maximal repone amplitude were increaed lightly. Photopic and 30-Hz flicker electroretinogram repone were delayed; multifocal electroretinogram waveform were delayed (5%–9%) and attenuated (14%–22%) acro the poterior pole. Thee change did not reolve by 5 hour. Nine of the ubject who had received ildenafil (64%) reported viual or ytemic ymptom, including one who reported bluih viion. Ten of thoe ubject (71%) howed a light increae in color tet error 1 hour after ildenafil. CONCLUION: For at leat 5 hour after taking 200 mg of ildenafil, cone function wa lightly depreed in the macula and periphery, a meaured by full-field electroretinogram and multifocal electroretinogram recording. However, the affected electroretinogram and multifocal electroretinogram parameter till remained within normal limit.