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Men's Sexual Health

Erectile Dysfunction Drug May Help Treat Enlarge Prostate Symptoms

The erectile dysfunction drug tadalafil is widely used to treat impotence or erectile dysfunction. Now, a new study shows that it also helps relieve symptoms in men who suffer from an enlarged prostate. These symptoms are commonly found related to the lower urinary tract, and are seen in more than half of the male population aged 50 and above. These lower urinary tract symptoms include incomplete urination, increased frequency, straining during urination, increased urgency of urination and a weak flow of urine.

The study was conducted at the University of Texas South Western Medical Center in Dallas, Northwestern University in Chicago and Lilly Research Laboratories. It was conducted on a randomized group consisting of more than a thousand men, spread across 10 countries. All the men participating in the study were required to have been suffering from lower urinary tract symptoms for at least 6 months, secondary to benign prostatic hyperplasia.

Men with a prostate specific antigen count greater than 10 ng/mL were not included in the study. Those men suffering from other conditions that could complicate the results of the study or who were on any other medication that could interfere with the results were also excluded from the study.

Men who had taken erectile dysfunction medication or other kinds of treatment for benign prostatic hyperplasia were put through a screening period for 4 weeks during which no treatment was given. The men in the study were then given a placebo for a period of 4 weeks before randomization.

In the study, some men who suffer from these lower urinary tract symptoms were given tadalafil medication everyday. Other men were given a placebo. . The subjects who numbered 1056 were separated randomly in 5 groups. The tadalafil medication was given in doses of 2.5, 5, 10 and 20 mg per day. The results clearly reveal that the men who received tadalafil had improved symptoms. Even a low dose of 5 mg a day was found to be enough to relieve the symptoms. Overall, all tadalafil doses were found to be superior to placebos when it came to relieving low urinary tract symptoms.

The effects were especially significant at 4, 8 and 12 weeks. All results were measured according to the International Prostate Symptom Score (I-PSS). Of all the doses that were administered to the participants, a dose of 5 mg per day was found to improve the I-PSS by 4.9 points. This was found to be the best profile as far as risk-benefit goes.

According to Claus G Roehrborn of the University of Texas South Western Medical Center in Dallas, tadalafil is receiving a lot of attention for treating benign prostatic hyperplasia and related lower urinary tract symptoms. Tadalafil is currently only approved for treating erectile dysfunction, but since studies are proving links between lower urinary tract symptoms and erectile dysfunction, the role of tadalafil will continue to be probed further.

One of the findings of the study was also that tadalafil caused fewer side effects in comparison to the medications that are currently used to treat an enlarged prostate. The symptoms can be relieved with these medications, but the side effects include low blood pressure, dizziness and sexual dysfunction.

Tadalafil under the brand name Cialis was the third approved impotence prescription drug after Sildenafin under the brand name Viagra, and Vardenadfin under the brand name Levitra. Cialis is effective 36 hours after ingestion, and is supposed to be taken once daily. One of the major advantages that Cialis has in comparison to Viagra and Levitra is the 17.50 half life that it ha, making it perfectly appropriate as a once-daily medication. Tadalafil is currently also in phase 3 clinical trials for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension.

Now, it appears that this ED medication will also be used to alleviate lower urinary tract symptoms related to BPH.

The results of the study will appear in the October issue of the Journal of Urology.