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Sildenafil

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 Sildenafil

ORLANDO, Fla.--An oral medication for impotence, still in
the
early stages of testing, significantly improved erections and
sexual performance in the majority of men who took the drug,
according to a British study presented here.

Though preliminary, the research is important because there
are
currently no effective oral agents to treat the condition,
said a
New York researcher.

The drug, sildenafil, produces more natural erections by
enhancing the erectile activity that occurs with sexual
stimulation, said lead researcher Clive J.C. Gingell, M.D., a
consultant urologist at the Bristol Urological Institute in
Bristol, England.

Specifically, sildenafil inhibits phosphodiesterase-5, an
enzyme
involved in smooth-muscle relaxation.

Unlike other treatments for erectile dysfunction, the drug
does
not directly cause erections, but instead enhances erectile
activity associated with sexual stimulation and excitation,
Dr.
Gingell said.

The study involved 351 men with sexual dysfunction of no
known
cause. The men were either given a placebo or one of three
daily
doses of sildenafil: 10 mg, 25 mg or 50 mg for 28 days.

After the treatment period, 38% of placebo patients reported
improvement in their erections--while 89% of the men taking
the
highest dose of sildenafil reported improved erectile
activity
and sexual performance.

"The results appear to be good in men with psychogenic
erectile
dysfunction," said Arnold Melman, M.D., chairman of
urology at
Albert Einstein/Montefiore Medical Center in New York.
"Whether
the drug works in men who have organic erectile dysfunction
is
another matter entirely."

If an effective oral treatment for erectile dysfunction were
available, every man would want to try it, Dr. Melman noted,
as
only injectable drugs are on the market. --C.B.

November 13, 1996
20:07 +0000

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Strand, London.

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