Unfortunately there are a few patients who complain about the side effects associated with such phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE5) inhibitor medications, usually an end-product of the enzyme that helps to stimulate blood flow throughout the body and directly to the penis.
Side effects from the most popular of the ED drugs – Viagra – can include nausea, headache, a dry mouth, facial flushing, blurred vision and indigestion. In addition, the drug is not suitable for men with angina or have recently suffered with a heart attack or stroke.
It must be stressed though that not every man who takes Viagra actually experiences these side effects and some can happily take it for years without ever having even a mildly unpleasant side effect.
But for those that are bothered by the slight bothersome aftereffects of Viagra, you may be delighted to learn that a topical cream could be released in the future to treat erectile dysfunction.
U.S. biotechnology firm Strategic Science and Technologies are developing the new cream which contains the same active ingredient as Viagra; sildenafil citrate.
The cream, which is intended to be an over-the-counter product and will thus will not require a prescription, has been tentatively given the name SST-6006. The creators say it is applied directly to the entire penis, where it then passed through the skin and into penis tissue, before being absorbed into the blood.
The Phase 1 trial was designed to test the “safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics of SST-6006” and involved 60 healthy men who were asked to apply the topical formulation of sildenafil. Though it was successfully absorbed into the bloodstream, it was found that with the topical cream there was an estimated 20-times reduction in the amount of the drug in the patient’s bloodstream compared to a Viagra pill taken orally and as a result, less side effects.
“With a growing concern about systemic side effects associated with the current oral forms of PDE-5 inhibitors, a topical treatment approach such as SST-6006 could enable patients with erectile dysfunction to benefit from a local therapeutic dose of sildenafil directly into the penile tissue while reducing the risk of unwanted systemic side effects,” commented Dr Irwin Goldstein, Director of Sexual Medicine at Alvarado Hospital and Director of San Diego Sexual Medicine.
“This is a novel delivery technology to positively impact sexual health in both men and women.”
The researchers have admitted though that tests conducted so far have yet to definitely confirm if the cream actually boosts sexual function. The main discovery so far has been the fact the cream successfully transfers into penile tissue when applied directly to the skin and is safe to use.
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