Erectile dysfunction. drugs: Risks and benefits

If you don’t know the risks and benefits of erectile dysfunction drugs, you’re probably not watching enough television.

The smiling faces and dancing bodies portray the obvious profits of Viagra, Cialis and Levitra. And the voice over somehow manages to make fairly serious risks such as blindness and four-hour erections seem relatively unimportant. The idea is to sell the product, but if you’re suffering from E.D. yourself, you probably want and need more detailed information.

The advertising campaign itself represents a major benefit for the 30 million or more American men who suffer from E.D. The ads accurately portray E.D. as a serious problem, not just for the old and frail but for many young, active, otherwise healthy men who didn’t realize that medical conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes or high cholesterol could lead to sexual difficulties. Other circumstances linked to erectile dysfunction include depression, obesity and hormonal problems, such as underactive thyroid.

The approval of Viagra in 1998 provided the first effective oral medication for the treatment of E.D. Levitra and Cialis followed in 2003. All work in similar ways to relax smooth muscle tissue and allow normal blood flow into the penis. The major difference is the longer (36-hour) window of opportunity for Cialis.

For almost 70 percent of men with E.D., these drugs provide a safe, effective solution. The majority of men with E.D. fail to seek treatment and that is a serious mistake, because E.D. is not just a lifestyle matter but very frequently an early sign of heart disease. Nearly all of the disorders linked to E.D., even depression, are risk factors for heart attack or stroke.

In one study, 49 percent of patients diagnosed with acute chest pain and diseased coronary arteries had erectile dysfunction as well. Those with two or three disease.d. arteries were more likely to have difficulty achieving and maintaining an erection.

When Viagra was introduced, there was concern about its safety when used by men with heart disease. Several studies conducted since 1993 have found PDE-5 inhibitors are not only safe but probably beneficial for such patients. These drugs work by improving the ability of blood vessels to dilate and contract.

The greatest danger is one presented prominently in the ads: Some men, because of their failing hearts, are not well enough to have sexual activity. Sex elevates the heart rate, and it may not be safe for a heart weakened by heart attack or heart failure.

The link between E.D. and high blood pressure is strong. More than two thirds of American men with hypertension have erectile dysfunction. And the risk factors for the two are the same: diabetes, smoking, high LDL cholesterol, obesity and physical inactivity. In addition, some blood pressure medications such as diuretics and beta blockers may contribute to erection difficulties.

E.D. drugs have been found to cause moderate decreases in blood pressure and work well with most blood pressure medications.

The major danger is the one mentioned prominently in the ads: taken in conjunction with nitrates, often prescribed to help heart patients cope with heart-related chest pain, any of the PDE-5 inhibitors can cause a precipitous drop in blood pressure. A similar effect can occur when a PDE-5 inhibitor is use.d. in combination with an alpha blocker for blood pressure or prostate problems.

Common side effects of Viagra include blurred vision and/or a change in color vision. The warning about blindness is serious.

NAION is a rare disorder; yet it’s a common reason for sudden vision loss, usually in men or women older than 50. The precise cause is unknown, but it’s believed to be related to a decrease in blood flow to the tiny blood vessels serving the optic nerve. Through 2005, 43 cases of NAION had been reported by men who had recently taken a PDE-5 inhibitor. Clinical data involving large numbers of patients do not reveal an increased incidence of NAION among men taking E.D. drugs.

The warning regarding hearing loss is similar. At least 29 men have reported sudden hearing loss after taking an E.D. drug. Some of these have involved both ears, and in two thirds of cases, the hearing loss was permanent. No causal relationship has been established.

None of these warnings is able to stop the dancing and the singing of “Viva Viagra.” And they shouldn’t. All three of the E.D. drugs have been demonstrated to be effective and safe for most men, as long as they are taken as directed.

In stark contrast, the “all natural” non-prescription remedies are not only ineffective but, in some cases, highly dangerous. When they work, it is usually because they illegally contain PDE-5 inhibitors, but in dangerously high doses or in combination with other substances that could cause serious interactions.

No drug is without safety concerns, but if you’re having trouble getting or maintaining an erection, the safest thing for you to do is see your doctor so you can get back in the dance.

Article from: http://www.enidnews.com/features/local_story_143011206.html

By Michelle Fay Cortez

FOR men with diabetes, erectile dysfunction may mean more than a lack of intimacy. It can also foreshadow heart disease, including heart attacks, strokes and even death, two new studies show.

The conditions have similar features. Heart disease develops when blood flow to the cardiac muscle is choked off, often because of fatty-plaque buildup or clots in the arteries. Erectile dysfunction can occur when damage to blood vessels hinders the surge of blood needed to sustain an erection. Both are common with diabetes, when high levels of blood sugar course through the vessels and cause damage.

Now, researchers in Hong Kong and Italy have found impotence may develop up to three years before heart disease in some diabetics, and those who have it may be at twice the risk for the deadly cardiac complications. The findings will appear in the May 27 Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

The development of erectile dysfunction should alert both patients and health-care providers to the future risk of coronary heart disease, said senior author Peter Chun-Yip, associate professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, in a statement.

The study strongly suggests erectile dysfunction is a marker for heart disease and doctors should ask diabetics about it to identify those at high risk, the researchers said.

Chun-Yips team tracked 2,306 male diabetics with no evidence of heart disease for four years, including 26.7 percent with erectile dysfunction, or ED. For every 1,000 men, 19.7 with ED developed heart disease each year, including a heart attack, chest pain, heart surgery or death from cardiac complications, compared with 9.5 per 1,000 without it, the study found.

Men with ED had a 58 percent higher risk of developing heart disease even after other reasons including age and medication use were taken into account, the researchers said.

The second study tracked 291 men with diabetes and silent heart disease, where reduced blood flow to the heart had not yet caused any significant complications. Those with erectile dysfunction, about one-third of the patients at the start of the study, were twice as likely to have a heart attack, stroke or other cardiac complications, the study found.

Drugs like Pfizer Inc.s Lipitor cut the heart risks by a third, the study found. Medications for erectile dysfunction, such as Pfizers Viagra, Bayer AGs Levitra and Eli Lilly & Co.s Cialis, seemed to have some benefit, though the results werent definitive, the researchers said.

Men should know that ED is a true harbinger of atherosclerotic coronary heart disease, said Robert A. Kloner, professor at the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California, in a statement.

Kloner, who wrote an editorial that accompanied the research, said more study is needed on drugs like Viagra, which was originally developed as a medication for the heart before its impact on erectile dysfunction was found.

Research on these drugs has come full circle, he wrote. The time has come to study these agents systematically as potential therapies for the prevention of adverse cardiac events in patients with vascular risk factors, he concluded.

source:  http://www.yehey.com/news/Article.aspx?id=215401

Dr. C.W. Randolph says any man over 40 who is suffering from erectile dysfunction can have his sex drive and performance restored naturally, without drugs, by losing belly fat and treating the underlying condition of estrogen dominance.

Jacksonville, Florida  May 23, 2008 — “If a doctor just focuses on erectile performance, they are missing the underlying health issue and, more than likely, are treating the symptom not the cause,” says C.W. Randolph, M.D. ” I encourage physicians to talk to their male patients about sexual performance problems and, then, treat the real culprit not just band-aid the symptom.”

According to a paper published in the May 16th issue of The Lancet, doctors who ignore or misdiagnose sexual dysfunction in men may miss early indicators for heart failure, depression or other ailments.

“When a male patient comes to me complaining about erectile dysfunction, I immediately suspect he is suffering from an underlying hormonal imbalance which is medically termed estrogen dominance,” says Dr. Randolph, co-author of the bestselling book FROM BELLY FAT TO BELLY FLAT. “I look at the size of his stomach even before I look at his lab work. Too much estrogen in the human system causes the body to pack on extra pounds around the middle. Belly fat is a key indicator of ‘metabolic syndrome,’ a cluster of abnormalities that include high levels of blood sugar, blood pressure, and triglycerides, as well as low levels of ‘good’ HDL cholesterol. This combination of risks has an impact on mortality from heart disease.”

Multiple medical studies have shown that men with excess belly fat and a large waist are most at risk for what researchers call ‘all-cause mortality’ — early death from any cause. The fact that belly fat can trigger cardiovascular problems is also why a large belly has been linked to erectile dysfunction.

“What’s worse,” continues Randolph, “is that belly fat doesn’t just lay idle at your belt-line. Researchers describe it as an active ‘organ’ in your body — one that churns out even more hormones, particularly estrogen, as well as other inflammatory substances. The result: as a man becomes fatter and more estrogen dominant, his sexual performance becomes even more impaired. Even worse, his risk for life threatening chronic diseases, such cardiac disease and diabetes, continues to soar. No wonder these men get depressed.”

When asked how his treatment of these men differs from many of his physician peers, Dr. Randolph responded: “Unfortunately, when it comes to erectile dysfunction as a stand-alone symptom or a risk factor for heart disease or diabetes, most doctors were not trained in medical school to diagnose estrogen dominance. As a result, they band-aid the symptom with pharmaceutical manufactured drugs instead of treating the underlying health issue. I have men walking in my office everyday carrying a bag of prescription medications (such as Viagra or Cialis for erectile dysfunction, beta blockers for cardiovascular concerns, or statins for high blood pressure) when what they really need is help eliminating their bodies’ extra estrogen load so that their symptoms of erectile dysfunction, as well as their risk for heart disease and diabetes, have a high rate of success to be resolved naturally.”

In describing his natural approach to treating men with belly fat and erectile dysfunction, Dr. Randolph offers his unique 3-Step Process also outlined in his book FROM BELLY FAT IN TO BELLY FLAT:

1.Test hormone levels and restore a man’s optimal hormone balance via bio-identical hormone replacement therapies. Most men don’t know it but, if a man is over 40 years of age, his body’s production of hormones has begun to shift. The medical term for this male menopause is andropause. Symptoms of andropause include change in libido, weight gain, depression, fatigue, and more.

2.Follow a nutritional program of foods and supplements (such as the one detailed in FROM BELLY FAT TO BELLY FLAT) designed to eliminate the body’s extra estrogen load naturally through the bowel.

3.Stress less and sleep more. Most men aren’t aware how stress and sleeplessness - at a cellular level - can sabotage waistlines, good health and, also, the strength of erections. “I don’t expect any one to get rid of all the stress in this busy world we live in but, in working with hundreds of patients over the years, my wife and co-author Genie James and I have developed some straight forward lifestyle modification techniques that have helped our patients modify their stress levels and, also, sleep through the night. We also outline these in our book.”

source:  http://www.prweb.com/releases/2008/05/prweb964764.htm

“This has been true for the past four to five years.

“Female buyers usually buy imitation cosmetics products, but the male clients usually go for sex stimulant drug*,” said Noordin Osman, the principal supporter director of the department’s pharmaceutic enforcement division.

Established on tip-offs, enforcement officers seized a few RM55,000 worth of unregistered pharmaceutical products in 14 apart raids during the first five months of the year.

By these, sex stimulants consisted 30 to 40 per cent of the total seized items, said Noordin.
In the latest raid conducted on May 5, there were RM6,200 worth of sex stimulants seized from two drug dealer* in Jalan Horley.

These productions were smuggled in from near countries and sold in markets and shops which deal in traditional medicine, said Noordin.

The two peddlers will be charged with having with the intention of selling drugs listed under the Poisons Act 1952 and drugs which were not registered by the Drug Control Authority.

Contempt routine checks and regular raids, the peddlers invariably return to their dirty business, said Noordin, adding that the department was conducting checks at the country’s entry points and was working towards arresting the main suppliers.

He said the dangers of using such drugs did not deter the public from purchasing them, as the products were cheaper and did not require a prescription from the doctor.

For example, a Viagra tablet costs RM40 each but the fake brand was sold at RM20 for a box of four pills, while imitation Cialis tablets were sold at RM20 a box, half the price of the original tablets.

The Health Department has distributed hologram decoders at 50 selected pharmacies throughout Perak, with more pharmacies to be similarly equipped in the future.

The new, weaker language of the Senate bill was endorsed by Eli Lilly and Co., maker of impotence drug Cialis and schizophrenic disorder drug Zyprexa. Legislature said they hope the support will spur other companies to back the bill, which had previously required all gifts valued over $25 be reported.

Lavish invests to doctors from industry — drifting from golf vacations to pricey dinners — have come vulnerable from lawmakers for charming physicians’ prescribing habits. The industry says such gestures are part of its doctor education, but critics say they taint independent decision-making.

“Transparentness brings about answerability and profits everyone, consumers most of all,” Sen. Chuck Grassley, an Iowa Republican, said in a statement. Grassley is sponsoring the bill with Democrat Sen. Herb Kohl of Wisconsin.

“We applaud Eli Lilly for endorsing transparency and hope the rest of the pharmaceutic industry follows their lead,” Kohl said.

But some consumer groups lamented the changes.

“It is absolutely unacceptable. The whole idea of the registry is it allows a gift by gift annotating,” said Peter Lurie, deputy director of Public Citizen’s health research unit, who testified at an earlier hearing on the topic.

Penalisations for drug and devicemakers in the retooled bill also were weakened to fines of between $1,000 and $50,000 for each assault, concording both Senate offices. The earlier marriage offer, released last year, set penalties from $10,000 to $100,000 per infraction.

“Penalizations need to be significant differently these companies will treat it as a cost of doing business,” Lurie said.

The new version also pushes back when the bill would go into effect, from 2008 to 2011.

Eli Lilly said it is backing the revised bill in a bid to recapture trust of doctors and patients.

“Any good partnership has to have trust. And a lot of that trust has been degenerating over time,” said Jack Harris, vice president of the U.S. medical division at Lilly.

The retooled Senate bill also includes several changes sought by industry, including having the federal law preempt state laws that require disclosure of gifts.

The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, a trade group for big drugmakers, had not taken a position when the first bill was announced. In a statement on Tuesday, it said it hopes any legislation not “inadvertently imply that these transactions are inappropriate.”

The group also is worried about the burden graded on doctors and societies to report, concording to the statement.

The United States Senate bill would require drug and device makers to submit an annual report about their gifts to the Fed government, which would post it on the Internet.

It was unclear if similar legislation would be introduced in the House.

Last year, five medical device makers settled a U.S. Justice Department investigating over gifts and payment practices. Four of them — Zimmer Holdings Inc, Johnson & Johnson’s DuPuy Orthopedics, Smith & Nephew and Biomet Inc — agreed to pay a combined $311 million as part of the settlement. The fifth company, Stryker Corp,agreed to change its practices and was not fined.

Pfizer has reached a settlement with a local importer for him to cease importation of an imitator product of the drug Viagra.

Pfizer stated in a release on Tuesday a settlement had been reached with Mohammed Baig whereby he had agreed to cease any and all further importation of a Viagra imitator product Kamagra.

Pfizer reported that last year the High Court in Trinidad issued an injunction against Baig prohibiting the importation and distribution of Kamagra, which Pfizer had alleged infringed its Trinidad patent on Viagra.

Kamagra contains the drug compound sildenafil which is also the active ingredient in Pfizer’s Viagra, an oral medication used to treat erectile dysfunction.

Noted that the Court also ordered that a shipment of the infringing pill which had been consigned to Baig, but had been seized and held by the Customs and Excise Division, be delivered to Pfizer for destruction.

According to medical findings made public recently, 20 percent of Saudi men suffer from erectile dysfunction (ED).

Do you like to learn about new and interesting things? If so, then this article will be right up your alley!

“It has been evident from these medical studies that 20 percent of erectile dysfunction suitcases (in Saudi Arabia) are caused by psychological evils, while 80 percent are allied to organic causes,” andrologist Dr. Yasser Al-Khayat told a push conference here on Wednesday.

According to the findings, the core causes for ED in Saudi Arabia were allied to diabetes, high blood pusher, smoking, fatness and require of implement. Of the suitcases found in Saudi Arabia, 50 percent were considered to be deep requiring urgent medical intervention.

“Scientific symptom has revealed that erectile dysfunction in itself is not a disease in most suitcases…it is actually a symptom of other corporal and psychological diseases which are more perilous, said Dr.Brown.”

We hope that the first part of this article as brought you a lot of much needed information on the subject at hand.

He added that 68 percent of patients worldwide who suffer from ED also suffered from high blood pushure, and that 50 percent of diabetes sufferers have ED.

Stress and psychological evils were other causes that share candidly to ED, he said. Studies have revealed that 11 percent of people hardened positively for ED worldwide experienced stress.

Al-Khayat warned people who experience ED against neglecting the snag, while it could be allied to other symptoms such as road evils allied to the affection.

“People agony from erectile dysfunction should urgently consult a specialist and not imperil their lives because of wariness or party disgrace, he said.”

Al-Khayat added that presently medication, which can heal up to 95 percent of the suitcases, are short solutions to the illness.

These cures are provided through psychological healment, hormone healment, as well as pleasing drug, such as Cialis, untaken in pharmacies, he said. The drug, he said, is not unnatural by food consumption and patients hardship not agonize about the time cause.

According to the UK-based Sexual Dysfunction Association, ED is very ordinary and affects at slightest one in every 10 men in the UK.

We hope that you have found this article interesting and eye catching to say the least. Its objective is to entertain and inform.

LEVITRA is an FDA-approved oral prescription medication for the treatment of erectile dysfunction (ED) in men. It is available in 2.5-mg, 5-mg, 10-mg, and 20-mg tablets and is taken only when needed. Take LEVITRA no more than once a day.

What LEVITRA does:

• LEVITRA helps increase blood flow to the penis, so it may help men with ED get and keep an erection that lasts long enough to finish having sex. Once a man has completed sexual activity, blood flow to his penis should decrease and his erection should go away
• LEVITRA has been clinically shown to improve erectile function, even in men who had other health factors, like high cholesterol, high blood pressure, or diabetes
• LEVITRA provided first-time success and reliable improvement of erection quality for many men, including those with high cholesterol, high blood pressure, or diabetes
• Men taking LEVITRA reported having harder erections and greater success at maintaining their erections long enough to finish having sex

A lot of men who took LEVITRA were successful the first time they tried it. It’s for the man who needs a little help once in a while and the man who needs more frequent help.

LEVITRA:

• Works for many men with a broad range of conditions, including high cholesterol
• Works for most men, including those taking one or more types of blood pressure medication (ask your doctor about drug interactions)
• Works for many men with type 1 or type 2 diabetes, across all levels of ED severity
• May work when other oral treatments do not

LEVITRA is a proven, effective treatment that works for most men. And it has been taken with medications used to treat other common medical conditions (ask your doctor about drug interactions). So why not see your doctor and find out for yourself?

source: http://www.levitra.com/about.html

Canadian drugstores have begun stocking a used full-time version of an anti-impotence drug its makers declare will allow men to be sexually “spontaneous,” day and night.

Cialis was originally designed to be taken on an “as needed” basis, with one dose lasting 24 to 36 hours, earning it the moniker “Le Weekend” when first approved in Europe in 2002.

Now it’s being repackaged and sold in a once-a-day, lower-dose version. Taken daily, the drug builds in a man’s body until it reaches a circulating level aspect element within the bloodstream that could allow a man to be sexually active “whenever the moment is right,” according to a news release issued by drug giant, Eli Lilly.

Dr. Gerald Brock says the once-a-day pill will appeal to men who Uncover timing an issue.

“Taking the drug on a daily basis and having complete spontaneity is going to be a real, genuine advance,” says Brock, a urologist at St. Joseph’s Health Care in London, Ont. Brock has received speakers’ fees and research grants resource within the past from Eli Lilly.

Once-a-day Cialis will cost $3.80 per capsule.

Last year, more than 1.6 million prescriptions for erectile dysfunction drugs were dispensed by Canadian drugstores, according to prescription drug tracking firm IMS Health Canada. About 593,000 of those prescriptions were for tadalafil, the chemical name for Cialis.

Cialis belongs to a class of drugs known as PDE-5 inhibitors that includes Viagra and Levitra. The pills act on the excellent chemical signals that open up the blood vessels element within the penis.

“Is it safe to take a PDE-5 inhibitor every repeated day? It probably is. These drugs are probably much safer than Aspirin,” says Dr. J. Paul Whelan, Braley-Gordon Chair of Urology at McMaster University in Hamilton.

The drugs aren’t thought to benefit men with usual sexual function. And there can be rare side-effects that can include headache, facial flushing and indigestion. The drug could not be used by men who are taking nitrates or those with cardiac disease “for whom sexual activity is not advisable,” Eli Lilly says.

Whelan says once-a-day erectile dysfunction drugs can help with what is known as “penile rehabilitation” after prostate cancer surgery.

In addition, men who experience side effects with the “on demand” Cialis can better tolerate the once-a-day version, which comes in 2.5 and 5 mg capsules, says Brock.

“And Ultimately, we as urologists have people who are very sexually active — they can be having sex two or three or more times per week. By taking a very small dose of Cialis every repeated day they can actually take less medication, have greater spontaneity, have lower side effects and, I think, at the end of the day have greater patient and partner satisfaction.”

Aussie couples will soon be able to reinvigorate their like existence with a daily pill that the manufacturer promises will bring back spontaneous sex.

The erectile dysfunction (ED) drug Cialis has been approved in a once-a-day formulation designed for men who have sex at least twice a week.

The drug differs from average Cialis and Viagra tablets, which are taken before a planned sexual interlude.

Manufacturer Eli Lilly is marketing the advanced product as the latest tool for sexual spontaneity, as men on this regime will be able
to have intercourse without advance planning.

The drug, the first of its kind approved by the Therapeutic Goods Administration, will cost about $190 for a pack of 24 pills.

Professor Doug Lording, an andrologist at Melbourne’s Cabrini Hospital, backs the drug saying continuous 24/7 coverage promotes a more “absolute” sexual familiarity.

“This is an essential fresh option for men with ED since it separates the pill from the pillow, which can give them back a more natural sexual familiarity with flow-on benefits to their overall wellbeing,” Prof Lording said.

The consumer support crowd, Impotence Australia, welcomes the drug’s approval, with chief executive Brett McCann saying ED has a definite impact on Australians’ ability to enjoy spontaneous sex.

An industry-funded Galaxy poll of 800 Australians released at the launch found 74 per cent of men rated spontaneity an valuable part of sex.

Almost 90 per cent of Aussie women said they preferred spontaneous sex over planned intimacy - a pleasant insight for men, as the survey showed that taking advantage of unscheduled opportunities increases their chances of having sex.

About two million Australian men suffer ED, a occupation triggered by blood vessel constriction or a blockage limiting penis blood flow.

Erection drugs employment by targeting an enzyme to amplify blood flow to the penis. Brisbane-based medical sex therapist Dr Jane Howard welcomed the once-a-day formulation and said trials had indicated efficacy and safety was in border with the on-demand formula. The most common side-effects of both products comprehend upset stomach, back pain, muscle ache, flushing and nasal congestion.