Erectile Dysfunction Medicine

In a study soon to appear in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism,  overweight men commonly report an unsatisfying sex life which may be related to low levels of circulating testosterone.  Patients with low testosterone levels also respond less favorably to the Erectile Dysfunction medications.

Simple blood tests can assess for a deficiency in this hormone.

Hydrogen sulphide, the gas responsible for the terrible smell of rotten eggs, has been found to play a role in the biochemical response that leads to an erection.  The discovery may lead to a new medical therapy for Erectile Dysfunction.

In the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Italian researchers showed that hydrogen sulphide is released into the erectile tissues prior to erections occurring.  Current Erectile Dysfunction drugs, such as Viagra, Cialis and Levitra, target nitric oxide, another mediator in erections.

In some rare cases, men do not respond to the current Erectile Dysfunction drugs which target the nitric oxide pathway.  New medications directed at hydrogen sulphide would hold promise for these patients.

The drug dapoxetine should be in pharmacies by April, according to a Johnson and Johnson spokesman.  Unfortunately for the millions of men suffering from premature ejaculation, the medication will only be available in Europe.  For now.

Dapoxetine belongs to the category of drugs known as SSRI's and can be used on demand (similar to erectile dysfunction medicine) to cause a delay in ejaculation of at least several minutes in most men suffering from premature ejaculation.

Other SSRI's such as Zoloft and Paxil are currently widely used for the problem, but they are not officially approved for this use, and do not work in an "on demand" fashion.

Dapoxetine was denied FDA approval in 2005 for reasons that were not clearly elucidated.  Speculation was that the medication had an unfavorable interaction with alcohol or might be associated with some unfavorable mood changes.

Johnson and Johnson is considering reapplying to the FDA, armed with additional research information.

Sometimes we all need reinforcement about common sense things. A new study published in the Journal European Urology looked at the effects of exercise on the development of erectile dysfunction.

Just 30 minutes of mild to moderate exercise was shown to reduce the incidence of ED by 38%.   As little as 1000 kilo-calorie expenditure each week reduces the risk.

The study specifically looked at common exercises such as gardening, mowing, and pulling weeds.

 

According to a recent article in the Journal of Hypertension, a simple urine test may offer a highly sensitive way to screen for diabetes and the risk for developing the disease.

The test offers a simple way to detect albumin in the urine sample.  Albumin is one of the main proteins present the blood and, normally, is not filtered by the kidneys.  Normally, it is not present in the urine.

However, during the stage of pre-diabetes, abnormal amounts of albumin leak out into the urine and are detected by a simple test.

The presence of albumin the urine indicated a 97% greater risk of developing diabetes even in the absence of other risk factors. Also, elevated levels of albumin in the urine might predispose to arterial damage and insulin resistance during later stages of the disease.

Diabetes is one of the main causes of erectile dysfunction, and earlier detection might allow prevention of the development of ED. 

A category of medications called statins has revolutionized therapy for elevated cholesterol. 

Prior to the introduction of the first statin, Mevacor, in the mid-80's, therapy for elevated cholesterol involved several different medications with limited effectiveness and generally unpleasant side effects.  While the statins can certainly have some side effects as well, they are usually well tolerated, particularly if periodic lab tests are conducted.  The benefits of lowering cholesterol in preventing heart disease, stroke, and peripheral vascular disease are well established.
  
Recently, even more potential benefits have been associated with the statins.  They may offer a protective effect against the development of prostate cancer.  In addition, statin therapy has been show to reverse the development of erectile dysfunction in a significant subgroup of men.

Unfortunately, many younger men, seemingly healthy, have never even been evaluated for elevated cholesterol and it's impossible to know if you have it without a lab test.  The sooner the diagnosis is made and treatment initiated, the better. 

High blood pressure is a major risk factor in the development of life-threatening conditions such as heart attack and stroke.  It also predisposes to erectile dysfunction. 

A recent study published in the November 24 Archives of Internal Medicine shows that ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (done at a patient's home) gives a more accurate picture of the blood pressure problem than testing done at a physician's office.  In cases of severe high blood pressure disorders, (those associated with a 20% incidence of life-threatening complications) the office blood pressure measurements did not predict a single patient that went on to suffer one of these major setbacks.  

For very little expense, patients at risk could have much better management, with fewer office visits, using online interpretation and management of changes in their blood pressures. Millions of lives could be saved.

Erectile dysfunction, to some degree, affects perhaps 50% of men between the ages of 40 and 70.  The impact on quality of life as well as a man's sense of well being is truly staggering.  With the introduction of sildenafil citrate (Viagra) in 1998, the approach and treatment of men with ED changed dramatically.  It was no longer  necessary to subject most men to extensive and costly diagnostic testing and often embarrassing face to face encounters in order to safely offer them treatment.  But how do Viagra and the other ED drugs work exactly?  They work their magic by inhibiting a specific enzyme called phosphodiesterase 5 (PDE5).  OK, here's what happens:  during sexual stimulation, nitric oxide (NO) is released into the tissues of the penis. NO then causes an increase in cyclic GMP which allow the erectile tissues of the penis to engorge with arterial blood, while the venous drainage of the blood slows down.The ED drugs block the breakdown of cGMP, which allows it to do its job more efficiently and powerfully.  While that might be "too much information," it's good to know what medications really do.  And besides, now you know more about the mechanism of action of the ED medications than most physicians!

KwikMed's customer service team receives numerous questions every week from our customers regarding generic Viagra the risks involved when purchasing medications online.

When buying Viagra online it is very important to understand the risks involved when dealing with unregulated online pharmacies. There has been a sharp rise in the number of counterfeit pharmaceutical products being sold online. These fake products may look like the real thing but do not contain the proper substances and can be very dangerous.

It is also important to realize that there is no such thing as "generic" Viagra, Cialis, or Levitra. Although you frequently see these "generic" erectile dysfunction medicines being advertised online they are not legal and it's illegal to sell "generic" Viagra, Cialis, or Levitra in the United States. These impotence drugs are not FDA approved which means you cannot be sure that these products are effective or safe.

The Pfizer website provides guidelines for buying Pfizer Viagra and notes that there are thousands of websites selling fake Viagra. It urges you to protect yourself and stay away from any sites selling "generic" Viagra, Viagra soft tabs, and quick-dissolving Viagra as these are all forms of fake Viagra.