Archive for the ‘PDE5 selective inhibitors’ Category
Viagra and erections: Do the benefits persist?
When Viagra (sildenafil) burst on the scene in 1998, it was a revolutionary development. Within months, it became clear that the drug could help about 70% of men with erectile dysfunction. Within a year, the medication had established an enviable safety record, even for men with stable heart disease (though it should never be used by men taking nitrates in any form or by men with unstable cardiovascular problems).
These early observations have held up, but as Viagra has settled into the mainstream, doctors are starting to ask how it affects men who have used it for several years.
Choice of ED Rx now a matter of patient preference
…But open discussions of sexual dysfunction have led to ‘hucksterism’ and false claims
Phosphodiesterase type-5 (PDE-5) inhibitors have revolutionized the treatment of erectile dysfunction and have proven to have both important clinical and social effects. They have moved discussions of sexual dysfunction from the closet to the examination room, not to mention the television set, where the topic is openly discussed in commercials and on talk shows.
“These new medications have really lessened the taboo that once surrounded the subject. The trends [in ED treatment] are more open discussion and less hesitation by family doctors to discuss this,” said John J. Mulcahy, MD, professor of urology at Indiana University Medical Center, Indianapolis.
Several studies introduced at the annual meeting of the European Association of Urology congress in Vienna last month compared the efficacy of sildenafil citrate (Viagra) with that of two new PDE-5 inhibitors — tadalafil (Cialis) and vardenafil (Levitra).
Fast-acting PDE-5 inhibitor shows positive results
Agent demonstrates quick onset, short half-life, dose-linked efficacy in phase II study
Avanafil, an investigational, fast-acting phosphodiesterase type-5 inhibitor, has been successful in its first large-scale trial. Joel M. Kaufman, MD, reported at the Sexual Medical Society of North America annual meeting here.
The study, led by Dr. Kaufman, associate clinical professor of urology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. Denver, was a phase II trial in the sequence of protocols needed to obtain FDA approval for drugs. Plans for a phase III trial, the last step in that sequence, are being made for 2006, according to VIVUS, Inc.. which is developing the drug.
Oral ED agent has rapid onset of action, study shows
The onset of action may be very rapid—within 10 minutes—in some men who take vardenafil (Levitra) to treat erectile dysfunction, according to the results of a multinational study.
Designed to identify the earliest time to onset of action leading to successful sexual intercourse after vardenafil dosing, the “Onset of vardenafil in men with erectile dysfunction” (ONTIME) trial—overseen by Luc Valiquette. MD, professor of urology at the Hospital Saint-Luc du CHUM in Montreal—randomized 732 patients to treatment with vardenafil, 10 mg; vardenafil, 20 mg; or placebo. The study participants had a baseline International Index of Erectile Function score of 13.4 (moderate severity), and all had demonstrated u response to vardenafil.
,p> Each participant was instructed to initiate sexual activity immediately after taking the medication and was issued a stopwatch to time the interval between dosing and attainment of erection perceived to be adequate for penetration with subsequent intercourse completion—recorded as a positive response to question 3 in the Sexual Encounter Profile (SEP3). Read the rest of this entry »