Viagra

Researchers in Germany may have figured out why overfed mice put on less weight while using sildenafil, commonly known as Viagra. And it's not because the rodents were, well, aroused to become more active and burn more calories. Apparently, the erectile-dysfunction drug can help convert "undesirable white fat cells into the 'good' beige (brown-like) fat cells that 'melt' away excess pounds," according to the University of Bonn, where the research was conducted. "The effects were quite amazing," said researcher Ana Kilic.

A yet-to-be-approved impotence drug developed by Eli Lilly and Co. and Icos Corp. appears to be longer-lasting than Viagra, the companies said, citing a study presented yesterday at a medical conference. Those studied reported success in achieving erections over a period of 24 to 36 hours after taking a 20-milligram pill of Cialis, the drug firms said. The study did not compare Cialis' effects directly with those of Viagra, the $1.2 billion-a-year drug for erectile dysfunction that Pfizer Inc. introduced in 1998.

I FIND THE Viva Viagra commercial disgusting! It's irritating that with the world in such a sorry state, a bunch of middle-aged men have nothing better to do in the evening than "rush home and hop into bed. " How about organizing teams for the young men hanging around with nothing to do? And pharmaceutical companies could spend less on drugs to help us perform sexually and more on important diseases like cancer, diabetes, etc. Shirley Bowser, Philadelphia

It's big, big, big. It's the hot new impotence pill, Viagra. Men are panting for this seeming miracle drug that promises to restore a flaccid sex life, lift a faltering libido, prop up drooping lust. It raises hope that sex is not over for men with impotence or for those who are losing zest. And that's not all it raises. Viagra is supposed to help men attain bigger and firmer erections. Sales have become a juggernaut unheard of since Prozac promised mellowness for the downcast.

Viagra is having interesting side effects. It's making some women angry. In the two months since the anti-impotence pill was introduced, insurers have paid for nearly half of 270,000 prescriptions for the drug, according to reports. But the companies are not nearly so accommodating to women. Many insurers pay for birth control pills, but not other family planning methods, such as diaphragms and IUDs. This disparity provides fresh evidence of the double standards many insurers have when it comes to women.

At her sentencing, Mary Frost recounted for a Jackson County Circuit Court judge the night in June 1998 that she says her 77-year-old housemate went from asking for sex to trying to rape her. Oscar Fingers' use of Viagra had made him increasingly aggressive, her defense attorney had argued in trial, and Frost was defending herself when she killed him. "I protected myself," Frost, 33, told the judge yesterday after spending about 20 minutes...

A version of this review appeared Wednesday. The Focker franchise is like Chrismukkah, an interfaith mashup serving plum pudding with a latke on the side. Starring Ben Stiller as the Jewish son-in-law who fails to meet the unreasonable expectations of his gentile father-in-law (Robert De Niro), Little Fockers , third in the series that began with Meet the Parents , comes to bury grudges and inevitably raises them instead. The best that can be said of the overpopulated and underwritten film is that it gives in-laws, spouses, and spawn a place to put their holiday anxiety and laugh at it. But the humor is sporadic, with Viagra jokes that don't provoke laughs so much as cringes.

Men of a certain need must spend more money for more years after a federal judge sided with drugmaker Pfizer Inc. as it tried to fend off a generic version of its erectile dysfunction drug Viagra in a patent-protection lawsuit. The suit pitted two of the world's biggest drugmakers - Pfizer and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. - both of which have local operations. Pfizer is the global leader in pharmaceutical sales and Teva leads the pack in generic drugs, which now account for about 75 percent of the market.

The Department of Veterans Affairs says it will not include Viagra among the drugs that must be available at all its medical treatment facilities because the impotence treatment would cost the department an estimated fifth of its current pharmaceutical budget. The department said yesterday that requiring Viagra could possibly cost $280 million annually and would have a crippling effect. "VA must weigh all factors when considering its benefits package," said Dr. Kenneth Kizer, an undersecretary for health at the department.

The drugmaker Pfizer Inc. said Monday that it would begin selling its erectile dysfunction drug Viagra online in hopes of thwarting counterfeit Web-only pharmacies, holding off legitimate competitors, and boosting profits. The pharmaceutical industry will watch this closely because it could change how drugs are bought, paid for, and delivered through the many layers of the current and complicated system. Pfizer will market the drug through viagra.com, but CVS Caremark will handle the online processing and shipping.

IT SOUNDS LIKE some alternate reality, where down is up and hot is cold, but Ed "NJ Weedman" Forchion said the words himself Wednesday morning, and even he can't believe it. "I'm getting a little stressed," said Forchion, 48. "I have no weed. " Oh yeah, he was arrested again, too, but that's normal for the longtime marijuana activist. This time, Forchion says, he was a passenger in a car that was pulled over Monday night on Route 73 in Evesham Township, Burlington County.

Researchers in Germany may have figured out why overfed mice put on less weight while using sildenafil, commonly known as Viagra. And it's not because the rodents were, well, aroused to become more active and burn more calories. Apparently, the erectile-dysfunction drug can help convert "undesirable white fat cells into the 'good' beige (brown-like) fat cells that 'melt' away excess pounds," according to the University of Bonn, where the research was conducted. "The effects were quite amazing," said researcher Ana Kilic.

Ben Roethlisberger doesn't sound like a guy who plans on playing Sunday against the Ravens. The injured Steelers quarterback said Thursday that he was still in significant pain from the sprained right shoulder and dislocated ribs that forced him to sit out Pittsburgh's last two games. Roethlisberger said "there's always a chance" he could play but isn't sure his injured arm will cooperate.   Player enhancement? The idea that NFL players might use Viagra to gain an edge on the field left Chicago Bears linebacker Lance Briggs practically in tears - from laughing.

Q: I'm a 25-year-old man who's tried several Internet dating sites and none of them have worked. They claim to be scientific and only match people who are compatible, but everyone I've met either had nothing in common with me, wasn't attracted to me or went off the grid after one date. I'm ready to give up, but I'm not meeting people through work or social contacts either, so I don't know what to do. STEVE: Don't take it personally. The dating failure rate is enormously high. The people who are most successful are the ones seeking the most opportunities.

DEAR ABBY: I am a 16-year-old girl and I want to become famous. My mom says that's not a real job. I was in magazines when I was little, but now that I'm older, I want to be a singer or actress. What should I do? — Heading for Fame in Ohio DEAR HEADING: Listen to your mother. Fame, if one can achieve it, is usually accomplished after years of planning and hard work. If there is community theater in your area, volunteer and become involved. Plan to study music, drama and speech — as well as another subject so you can support yourself if it takes awhile for you to become famous.

FEDERAL PROSECUTORS Thursday filed new charges against a Philadelphia man they say schemed to smuggle counterfeit Viagra and Cialis pills into the country. According to an indictment, Randy Hucks, 50, whose street address was unavailable, illegally imported 10,188 fake Viagra tablets and 3,040 fake Cialis tablets from factories in China between November 2010 and March 2011. Hucks was initially indicted last June on charges of trafficking the fake Viagra. The new charges added smuggling and mail fraud for the fake Viagra, and smuggling, trafficking and mail fraud for the fake Cialis.

Question: My husband has been taking Viagra for years. As you know, it is very expensive and there is no generic here in the United States. I heard on the radio that there is a much cheaper Viagra available. It is one-fourth the price of brand-name Viagra. What I received is "Fiagra. " It is from India. When I called the distributor, they said it's exactly the same. Have you heard of it? Is it safe? Answer: Viagra is not yet available in a generic form in the United States.

KATMANDU, NEPAL - A court in northwestern Nepal has convicted 19 villagers for the beating deaths of seven people from a rival community in a dispute over foraging for a rare fungus known as "Himalayan Viagra. " The Manang district court said six of the defendants were sentenced to 20 years in prison, while the remaining were sentenced to two years. Residents of Naar village attacked the seven rivals in June 2009 after they came to nearby mountainous areas to collect yarsagumba, a rare fungus that grows out of the corpses of caterpillars.

Men of a certain need must spend more money for more years after a federal judge sided with drugmaker Pfizer Inc. as it tried to fend off a generic version of its erectile-dysfunction drug Viagra in a patent-protection lawsuit. The suit pitted two of the world's biggest drugmakers - Pfizer and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., both of which have local operations - against each other. Pfizer is the global leader in pharmaceutical sales, and Teva leads the pack in generic drugs, which now account for about 75 percent of the market.