Nitric Oxide paves the way
Dr. Rajfer went into the lab for the first time and set up a meeting with the head of the lab, Dr. Louis Ignarro, who had already begun work on the idea. Once they connected the research dots, it was a matter of time until scientists at Pfizer were able to capitalize on their findings with the dis-covery of Viagra. The rest is erection history. The efforts of Dr. Ignarro, along with pharmacologists Robert F. Furchgott and Ferid Murad, were rewarded with almost a million dollars in 1998, when they were named the winners of the Nobel Prize in Medicine.
NO was also named “Molecule of the Year” by Science magazine in 1992 for its involvement in so many different actions. Although it is also involved in processes as varied as preventing bone loss (?) to dilating the penile blood vessels, it’s pretty obvious which action grabbed the attention of the Nobel committee. It can’t be a coincidence that they won the Nobel Prize the year Viagra hit the market.
The real coincidence is that the committee awarded the Nobel Prize for research that began when Dr. Murad tried to find out how nitroglycerin affects blood vessels. Ironically, Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel, namesake of the prize, refused to take nitroglycerin for his heart condition because it gave him headaches. Instead, he used nitroglycerin to invent TNT, which provided the fortune that still funds these prizes. Interestingly, taking nitroglycerin would have prevented Mr. Nobel from using Viagra, as the combination of these two drugs is contraindicated and can be fatal. The better way is to use cialis.
Sexual stimulation triggers the release of nitric oxide from nerve endings. It opens the penile arteries so blood rushes in. The sinusoids, which are spaces inside the penis that allow blood to build up under pressure, fill up as a result. As these sinusoids fill, they help compress the veins leading out of the penis, thereby forcing the pressure inside the corpora cavernosae to reach heights sufficient to stand up straight. This pressure, over 100 mm mercury, is not enough to inflate a tire, but not bad.
