there are almost 13,000 sufferers in the United Kingdom alone.

A rare and debilitating blood disease could be cured by using the erectile dysfunction drug Viagra if clinical trials prove to be successful. The illness which is called sickle cell disease is an inherited disease which occurs when red blood cells are distorted and therefore cannot circulate properly around the human body. It is hoped that the Viagra drug will improve circulation and give some respite to the pain that the sufferers experience. The most common problems with this disease are extreme pain in the main joints of the body.

Around 200 men women and children who suffer from sickle cell disease will be taking part in this new trial for Viagra which is being run by the Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust in conjunction with a number of research centres in America. Dr Simon Gibbs who is leading the study and who is the senior lecturer at the Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust said that their findings would not only be important for treating the disease in the United Kingdom but also for around the world.  The majority of people who suffer from sickle cell disease tend to have Afro-Caribbean ethnicity and there are almost 13,000 sufferers in the United Kingdom alone.

Viagra is not only used to treat erectile dysfunction but is also used to treat men and women who suffer from pulmonary arterial hypertension. It is also being used in many different research projects which deal with circulation and the heart and some scientists say that it could be used to treat men who are in danger of suffering from heart attacks.

Pfizer who make the erectile dysfunction drug Viagra will be following the outcome of this research very carefully as it could in the future yield a positive new income stream for them should the research be positive and successful.