WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The male impotence drug Viagra may be useful for treating jet lag as well, according to Argentine researchers who gave it to hamsters made to feel like rodent globe-trotters.

The researchers the schedule of turning lights on and off to induce jet lag in the laboratory animals, they reported on Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

National Academy of Sciences.

Adult male hamsters given Viagra, also called sildenafil, recovered from jet lag up to 50 percent faster than hamsters that were not given it, the researchers said.

The scientists stopped giving the hamsters the highest dose they had been using in the experiment due to a certain side effect.

“However, we used the intermediate dose for the rest of the experiments because at that dose animals did not manifest the effects of penile erections,” they wrote.

Flying across multiple time zones can confuse one&39;s internal clock, the researchers said.

Viagra is marketed by Pfizer, the world's largest drug maker. The U.S. Food and Drug

Food and Drug Administration approved it to treat erectile dysfunction in 1998.

Originaly from: