HISTORY

Over 100 years ago it was found that nitroglycerin can treat the pain of heart disease and heart attacks
In 1987 it was discovered that nitric oxide was naturally produced in the body
Nitrogen monoxide (NO) was the 1992 Molecule of the Year
The work of the biochemical role of nitrogen monoxide by Robert Furchgott, Louis Ignarro and Ferid Murad was awarded the 1998 Nobel prized for physiology and medicine

NITROGEN MONOXIDE

Nitrogen monoxide plays a role in blood regulation
As blood pressure increases the walls in the arteries detect the increase
In reaction, the walls produce nitrogen monoxide
The nitrogen diffuses through the artery wall and into surrounding muscle tissue
In response the muscle tissue relaxes causing the artery walls to expand and blood pressure to drop
At first, this was thought to be just a poisonous polluting gas in the air
Now, this tiny molecule is a signal-conveyor in the nervous system and fights against infections in our body
Nitrogen Monoxide also controls erection and uterine contraction
It is also plays a role in regulating blood pressure

Nitrogen monoxide plays a role in blood regulation and it applies to Boyle’s law
Boyle’s Law states:
At a constant temperature, the volume of a fixed mass of gas is inversely proportional to its pressure

As blood pressure increases in the artery, nitrogen monoxide is released
In response the increased volume of nitrogen monoxide increases decreases pressure in the artery, therefore the volume of blood in the artery which decreases blood pressure
The drug V*agra ™ acts similarly as nitrogen monoxide

Nitroglycerin is a type of nitrate
Found to be useful when treating pain from heart diseases and heart attacks
Used to:
Prevent chest pain
Limit the number of heart attacks
Relieve pain from an attack
Treat the symptoms of heart failure
Act on the smooth muscle of vessels to cause dilation of the arteries
Nitrates are vasodilators, which means they help widen (dilate) your blood vessels, making it easier for blood to flow through and let more oxygen-rich blood reach your heart
Better blood flow means your heart doesn’t have to work as hard

The drug sildenafil citrate was originally developed to treat chest pain, using the release of nitrogen monoxide in a manner similar to nitroglycerin
Although, this drug wasn’t very effective in this role, there was one unexpected side effect in males: it produced nitrogen monoxide elsewhere in the body
As a result, the drug V*agra was discovered