posted 01/22/03
64% of men reported improved erections.
The
phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE5) inhibitor tadalafil is effective in the
treatment of erectile dysfunction in men with diabetes, according to researchers
in North America and Spain.
Dr. Inigo Saenz de
Tejada of Fundacion para la Investigacion y el Desarrollo en Andrologia, Madrid,
and colleagues note that as many as 75% of diabetic men may experience such
dysfunction at some point. The risk has been estimated to be almost twice that
of the general population.
Tadalafil, they also
observe, is a potent selective inhibitor of PDE5 in development for oral
treatment of mild-to-severe erectile dysfunction of psychogenic, organic or
mixed etiology. Blockade of PDE5 potentiates the nitric oxide-mediated erectile
response.
To determine the
drug's safety and efficacy in men with type 1 or type 2 diabetes, the
researchers enrolled 216 such subjects with erectile dysfunction for at least 3
months. They were randomized in a double-blind fashion to tadalafil 10 mg or 20
mg taken as needed no more than once daily, or to placebo.
Among the 191 men
who completed the study, there was a significant improvement over baseline as
measured by responses to questionnaire on erectile function and in entries in a
sexual encounter diary. The results were not associated with the baseline level
of dysfunction.
In all, 64% of men
in the 20-mg group reported improved erections, as did 56% of those in the 10-mg
group. Both of these improvements were significantly greater (p < 0.001) than
that experienced by men in the placebo group (25%).
The researchers observe that tadalafil was well tolerated, did not alter mean hemoglobin A1c levels and significantly enhanced erectile function. This was the case, they point out, "when taken as needed with no restrictions on either food or alcohol intake or the timing of dose administration."
Source: Diabetes In Control Dot Com: Diabetes Care 2002;25:2159-2164.
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