# A Berlin Neurologist's Last-Resort Drug Is Keeping Six Children Alive

- slug: a-berlin-neurologists-last-resort-drug-is-keeping-six-children-alive
- date: 2026-04-01
- category: Biotech & Life Sciences

A teenager in Berlin was near palliative care. After seven years on sildenafil — the active ingredient in Viagra — he is still alive. Six patients with Leigh syndrome, a fatal mitochondrial disease, have now been treated off-label, with mixed but striking results. A larger trial is coming.

---