Viagra skin patch in development – And it works faster than tablets!

People usually wear plasters to stem blood flow, but imagine putting one on to actually get something into the bloodstream?

For that is the idea behind a new way to treat erectile dysfunction in men, with scientists at universities at Cairo and Saudi Arabia looking at getting viagra into the blood, acting in a similar way to a smoking patch.

Men suffering with impotence problems would theoretically be able to wear the viagra skin patch on their upper arm or the abdomen, and perhaps most importantly for men, will kick-in within just a matter of seconds or minutes. Viagra can take between 30 minutes to an hour to work.

This means it will get men in the mood for sex even quicker than the time it takes them to get into the bedroom and take their clothes off!

Moreover, after taking the tablet version of viagra, some men occasionally experience various non-life threatening side effects such as blurred vision, slight headache, indigestion and muscle pain. The new erectile dysfunction skin patch would mean an end to these unwanted effects.

The team involved in the research at King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, along with scientists at Cairo University, utilised a new drug delivery method, known as transferome technology.
A tiny patch measured at just 1cm squared was created, comprised of minute particles of sildenafil citrate (the active ingredient in viagra) which is coated with thin layers of fat and chemicals that will enable the skin to absorb the drug.

The patch was then tested on rats in order to judge just how much – if any – of the medicine would manage to penetrate the skin. The patch used on the rats only contained 1 milligram of viagra, which means bigger patches would need to be fashioned to accommodate for doses of viagra prescribed to men, which can range from 25mg to 100mg.

In a report in the journal Drug Design, Development and Therapy, scientists said the results demonstrated that viagra particles successfully transmitted through both the outer and inner layers of the skin.
In a report on the findings they said: “This could be a promising delivery system for the drug.
“The skin is an alternative route to the oral one, prolonging the effect and reducing variability.”
Although the patch has only been tested on rats thus far, there are hopes for future clinical trials on humans.

Since viagra first became available in 1998, its popularity has skyrocketed and has boosted the love lives of millions of men across the globe. After viagra became a huge success, its chunk of the market was somewhat reduced following the 2003 FDA-approvals of both levitra (vardenafil) and cialis (tadalafil) for the treatment of erectile dysfunction.

According to official health statistics, over 3.5m prescriptions were dispensed in England during 2015 alone for medicines to treat erectile dysfunction.

The manufacturers of viagra, Pfizer, were forced into lowering the hefty price of viagra after seeing its patent expire in 2013 and this led to many generic sildenafil products entering the market, drugs that contained exactly the same active ingredient of the branded viagra, but could be sold to patients for just a fraction of the price.

However, men might not want to completely ditch their oral medications just yet. The British Society of Sexual Medicine’s Dr Geoff Hackett warns that the patches will actually hit patients hard in the wallet compared to existing treatments.

“It might be a nice way of delivering the drug,” he said.

“But I can’t see how a patch likely to cost around £10 is going to replace a pill that’s a fraction of the price.”

ED drug Cialis to be used in Dementia trials

British pensioners will be given erectile dysfunction drug Cialis for the world’s first clinical trial of its kind to see if the drug can be used in the fight against dementia.

Tadalafil – Cialis’ active ingredient – belongs to the same class of medications (PDE5 inhibitors) as Pfizer’s Viagra, and works by dilating blood vessels in the penis so blood can flow there more easily.
Because of its benefits to blood flow, scientists were curious if tadalafil could help to avert the development of a common form of dementia (vascular dementia) by again increasing blood flow, but this time to the brain.

The Alzheimer’s Society and the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation (ADDF) in New York are jointly funding the £328,000 cross-Atlantic research partnership.

Scientists led by Dr Atticus Hainsworth at St George’s, University of London, will assess 50 people aged over 65 in the UK that have experienced mild symptoms of dementia – such as memory loss – or have shown signs of blood vessel damage, following a stroke.

Dr Hainsworth commented: “My colleagues and I are very enthusiastic about this trans-Atlantic initiative as there are too few drugs in the medicine cupboard for dementia. We want to know whether a well-known, well-tolerated drug can be used to combat dementia, which has been called the twenty first century plague. The drug Tadalafil is widely used to increase blood flow in penile tissue. Now we’re asking whether it can do the same for another vital organ – the brain.”

Vascular dementia is the second most common type of dementia and an estimated 110,000 cases of dementia in the UK are this form of the disease. It is usually caused due to damage of the small blood vessels of the brain, leading to less blood being transported to the brain tissue as the artery walls are too thick and stiff.

This type of damage is also referred to as ‘small vessel disease’ and is evident in around 50-70% of older people because the damage usually develops and worsens over many years.

However, the researchers involved in the new clinical trials are optimistic that tadalafil’s blood-flow boosting properties will hopefully be able to stop the damage that causes vascular dementia.

The researchers will monitor the participants’ blood flow to the brain prior to and following a dose of tadalafil, using a special type of MRI called arterial spin labelling.

This involves the use of radiowaves to magnetise water within the blood and then monitor it as it travels to the brain, which will help the researchers to see the amount of blood that is getting to different areas of brain tissue.

The low dose of tadalafil will occasionally be switched for a placebo so the scientists can contrast the blood flow with and without tadalafil.

Patients already with dementia will be unable to be involved in the trials as those pioneering the research say they want to see if tadalafil may be able to actually prevent the onset of the disease.

Dr Doug Brown, Director of Research and Development at Alzheimer’s Society, said: “Drug development can take decades and sadly, the path towards developing dementia treatments over the past decade is littered with drugs that have failed in clinical trials. As we learn more about the causes of dementia and its links to other conditions, there is hope that treatments we routinely use for other diseases may also work for people with dementia.

“These incredibly exciting studies could see existing treatments turned into drugs for the most common forms of dementia in a fraction of the time and at a fraction of the cost of developing new drugs from scratch. By next year 850,000 people in the UK will have dementia and we owe it to them to do everything we can to develop better treatments and ultimately find a cure. Research like this is a huge part of that goal.”

Man jailed for 16 weeks for selling dangerous ‘herbal’ male impotence drug

On Friday a 58-year-old man was slapped with a 16 week prison sentence at Wood Green Crown Court for selling an unlicensed and dangerously potent erectile dysfunction (ED) drug which contained more than four times the recommended dose.

The man, from Barnet, became of interest to the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) as far back as 2009 following a caution for possession with intent to supply ‘Jia Yi Jian’.

Jia Yi Jian is a so-called ‘herbal’ male impotence medicine that was actually discovered to contain a shockingly high dose of tadalafil – the active ingredient in prescription-only ED drug Cialis – in addition to over four times the common dose of sibutramine, a slimming treatment that is no longer available.

Sibutramine was pulled from circulation back in 2010 due to widespread fears about health risks associated with the drug. However, mixed with tadalafil, there is the risk of serious health problems such as increased heart rate, heart attack and stroke.

Following that 2009 caution, the man was stopped in his tracks at Heathrow Airport in 2010 after inspectors discovered an incredible 51,600 tablets of ‘Herbal Viagra’ which he had been bringing into the country from China.

The herbal tablets were anything but that, and again comprised of prescription-only medicine tadalafil. A private prescription or a doctor’s consultation with a registered pharmacy such as Medical Specialists® Pharmacy is absolutely essential to ascertain a patient’s health and suitable for that, or indeed any medicine. Counterfeiters or those selling unlicensed drugs do not follow any procedure like this and are breaking the law and putting lives at risk.

Following an MHRA investigation, the man was given a 32-week suspended prison sentence. Then, after MHRA officers searched the man’s home, in excess of 5,000 tablets were unearthed disguised in boxes labelled as ‘Diet tea’. The haul included the aforementioned Jia Yi Jian.

The recent 16 week sentence was imposed after the man was found to have breached his suspended sentence, for which resulted in an 8 week sentence, which was added to another 8 weeks for selling unlicensed drugs without any authorisation. He was also hit in the pocket, incurring a £600 court change to be paid within 12 months.

MHRA Head of Enforcement, Alastair Jeffrey commented: “We will continue to seek out and prosecute the kind of criminals who recklessly endanger public health by selling illegal unlicensed medicines. Products such as these which are adulterated with high levels of pharmaceutical ingredients present a real health risk. It is vital that people who are suffering a medical condition don’t take shortcuts buying online, speak to your doctor to get the appropriate treatment.”

You’d be forgiven for thinking that the majority of counterfeit or unlicensed drugs would contain very little – if any – of the primary active ingredient, in this case tadalafil from ED medication cialis. However, this case goes to show that not only are some dubiously sold medicines containing the active ingredient, they may even contain potentially fatal high doses, and why patients should only go to a legitimate and fully-registered pharmacy.

If taken in excess, tadalafil overdose symptoms can include chest pain, irregular heartbeat, feeling lightheaded, fainting or nausea. In addition, patients suffering with male impotence should never combine Cialis with other ED medication like sildenafil (Viagra) or vardenafil (Levitra).

Viagra or Cialis could treat Duchenne muscular dystrophy

Erectile dysfunction (ED) medications for adult males such as Viagra and Cialis could be beneficial for boys suffering with the muscle disease Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), according to the findings of a new study.

The small study – published online May 7 in the journal Neurology – included 10 boys between the age of eight and 13 with the disease, and the researchers discovered that popular male impotence drugs Viagra and Cialis worked at boosting blood flow to the impaired and weakened muscles in the boys.

“Boys with Duchenne muscular dystrophy have a blood flow abnormality – delivery of blood and oxygen to their muscles – that does not increase the way it should during mild exercise,” commented lead researcher Dr Ronald Victor, the associate director of the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute in Los Angeles.

Not a commonly known ailment, DMD is a genetic condition that may be inherited which causes muscle weakness and begins during childhood. Signs of DMD are when the child has difficulty standing up, climbing or running. It primarily effects boys in their early childhood and unfortunately they can only expect to live into their 20s or 30s. Some girls may also carry the Duchenne gene.

Treatment with medication such as corticosteroids can slow down muscle degeneration and provide protection for heart and lung function, but they have no impact on the abnormal blood flow. In addition, there are more than a quarter of patients unable to tolerate steroids or their side effects.

For the study, scientists based at the Cedars-Sinai Institute looked at the impact ED medications had for the 10 boys with DMD and experiencing blood flow problems. All the boys were initially using steroids and they were subsequently compared against 10 healthy boys in the same age group.

Those with DMD were still able to walk, but some used a wheelchair or scooter too. Their blood pressure was taken during rest and whilst performing a handgrip exercise. Despite taking steroids, the boys with Duchenne were found to have abnormal blood flow.

Tests were conducted again after the boys were given a single dose of either sildenafil (commonly known as Viagra) or tadalafil (commonly known as Cialis). After a fortnight, those given sildenafil were switched to tadalafil, and vice versa, with tests carried out yet again.

Treatment with both drugs resulted in improved blood flow in the boys with Duchenne, even equalling that of the healthier boys.

In regards to side effects from taking what are obviously adult-only medications, Dr Victor says: “A few boys in our study had erections after taking these drugs. The erections were not painful and not dangerous and resolved spontaneously without treatment.”

It is not known if the anti-impotence drugs will slow progression of the disease and Dr Victor believes a much larger trial could help solve this mystery.

“The findings in this small study led to a large clinical trial, which is enrolling now in the U.S. and abroad, to see if 48 weeks of treatment with once-daily Cialis will slow the decline in walking ability in 7- to 14-year-old boys with Duchenne. The findings offer some hope, but we need to wait for the results of the large treatment trial to see if daily treatment with Cialis has a clinically meaningful benefit for boys with this form of muscular dystrophy.”

Medical Specialists™ now offer exciting ‘second generation’ impotence treatment Spedra

Since the release of Pfizer’s Viagra way back in 1998, men across the globe suffering from the common condition known as erectile dysfunction (ED) have been spoilt for choice with regards to treatment options.

Sildenafil citrate – marketed as Viagra – was subsequently joined by Levitra (vardenafil) and Cialis (tadalafil), followed by variations such as the Cialis Daily tablets and Levitra ODT (Orodispersible). And now the ED market finally welcomes an exciting new addition to its vast array of treatments, in the form of Spedra (avanafil).

Spedra is available today from Medical Specialiasts™ Pharmacy, priced from as little as £23.17 for 4 x 50mg tablets. No prescription? No worry…Our in-house Doctors will write a prescription for you, which is then dispensed by our in-house Pharmacists, and sent to you within 24 hours.

Menarini, a private company headquartered in Florence, are manufacturers of Spedra and are touting the new treatment as the very first ‘second-generation’ medication for ED. This is due to the fact patients within the clinical trials did not report back to have experienced some of the side effects associated with the other PDE-5 inhibitors, i.e. blurred vision or slight hearing loss.

Spedra has been shown to have an impressive success rate of 77% and is rapidly becoming well known for being the quickest acting male impotence treatment there is. Those being prescribed it for the first time may find they start on 100mg, but there are also 50mg and 200mg doses of the drug. The maximum recommended dosing frequency is once per day. Like the other ED treatments, Spedra’s full effect is felt with prior sexual stimulation (foreplay) – just like you would engage in any way if you were not taking a medication for ED.

Taken orally, Spedra belongs in the same family of medicines as Viagra, Levitra and Cialis. Just like the existing ED drugs, Spedra belongs to a class of medicines known as PDE-5 (Phosphodiesterase type 5) inhibitors and is suitable for men who have trouble getting or sustaining an erection for sexual intercourse.

Whereas the existing treatments can take anywhere between 25 minutes to an hour to take effect, clinical trials have demonstrated the impressive prowess of Spedra, which kicks-in with firm erections after just 15 minutes, according to many of the men participating in trials. The new treatment will shave vital minutes off compared to its counterparts, ideal for more ‘spur of the moment’ love making.

Spedra has been shown to remain effective for between four and five hours, a time duration similar to that of Viagra. It should be noted that this does not mean you will have an erection for between four and five hours, but that you will have ability to achieve improved erections that duration. Like other ED treatments, Spedra may take longer to become effective if taken following a large meal.