Three drugs used to treat erectile
dysfunction -- Cialis, Levitra and Viagra
-- are safe and effective for
men with
diabetes, concludes a research review in
the current issue of the Cochrane Library
journal.
These drugs are included in a family of
medications called phosphodiesterase type
5 (PDE-5) inhibitors.
In their review, the authors analyzed
eight studies of 1,759 men that compared
Cialis, Levitra or Viagra to placebo.
Eighty percent of the men in these studies
had type 2 diabetes, while 20 percent had
type 1 diabetes. Most of the studies
lasted for 12 weeks.
At the end of the studies, men who took
one of the PDE-5 inhibitors showed
improvements on all measures of erectile
dysfunction, and the drugs caused few
adverse reactions, according to the
review.
Men who took the drugs were 4.8 times more
likely to have an adverse reaction than
men who took a placebo. The most common
side effects among men who took the drugs
were headache, flushing, and upper
respiratory tract complaints and flu-like
symptoms. There were no deaths.
"The results of our meta-analysis are not
surprising, but give strength to the
general notion that this class of drugs is
efficient and safe for this specific wide
population," review lead author Dr. Moshe
Vardi, of the internal medicine division
at Lady Davis Carmel Medical Center in
Israel, said in a prepared statement.
"PDE-5 inhibitors have been considered the
mainstay of treatment for erectile
dysfunction in the general population for
many years. Diabetics are prone to this
complication, and the etiology of their
erectile dysfunction is multifactorial,
thus making their treatment a special
challenge for physicians and other health
care professionals," Vardi said.
