Do erectile dysfunction drugs causes NAION ?

What is NAION and what is happening inside the body to cause damage to  sight?

NAION is an acronym for Nonarteritic Anterior Ischemic Optic Neuropathy. Well, basically, the optic nerve is a nerve that connects the eye to the brain. That's how we see.

The optic nerve has tiny blood vessels that perfuse it and that's how it gets its blood supply and oxygen for it to function properly.The condition generally starts in one eye and can cause complete blindness if both eyes are affected. Those who have poor eyesight appear to have the highest chances for developing NAION.

Is there a risk from taking erectile dysfunction drugs?

It is possible that in certain individuals the drugs could potentially to  this. For example, one theoretical mechanism -- which hasn't been proven, but it is a possibility -- is we know these drugs in some patients lower the blood pressure overall in the body. And it's possible that as the drug lowers the blood pressure, the blood flow through the tiny blood vessels in the optic nerve may be temporarily diminished. And during that time, the optic nerve may suffer damage. Now, again, this is not a definite mechanism, it's just a proposed possible mechanism for why this may occur.
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