Tuesday, October 10, 2007 Premature TX, Part 2 By Zosimo T. Literatus, R.M.T. Breakthroughs
LAST week, we introduced three categories of drugs used in the treatment of premature ejaculation (PE): topical anesthetics, antidepressants and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors.
Another recent drug category is the PDE5 inhibitors. PDE5 refers to phosphodiesterase, type-5, an enzyme found in the corpus cavernosum (the erectile tissue of the penis) that breaks down energy particles in the tissues resulting to relaxation.
Too much speed in PDE5 action can cause rapid onset of penile flaccidity. When inhibited, this enzyme can prolong penile erection and subsequently ejaculation, making it a popular treatment against erectile dysfunction (difficulty in sustaining erection). Drugs in this category include sildenafil, vardenafil, and tadalafil.
Traditional Chinese herbs gain popularity more through testimonial proliferation rather than formal scientific investigation. These traditional “drugs” have become acceptable alternatives over very expensive pharmaceutical drugs. Such herbs include Paeoniae alba (roots), Anegelicae sinensis (roots), Lycium barbarum (fruits), Polygala tenifolia (roots), and many more. While the lack of clinical studies presents a constant risk to safety, their synergistic mode of presentation provide them some form of risk-prevention through complimentary modulation of their respective activities inside the body.
A recent review of PE treatments performed by researchers Wang Wei-fu, Chang Le, and David J Ralph uncovered side effects. Wei-fu and Le are physicians at the People’s Hospital of Hainan Province in Haikou, China. Ralph works at the department of andrology of the Institute of Urology in Middlesex Hospital in London, United Kingdom.
The trio reviewed a total of qualified 48 articles published in Medline from January 1996 to August 2006, all dealing with SSRI drugs. Results, published in the Chinese Medical Journal (2007), found certain primary side effects from the use of SSRI drug, such as difficulties with sexual desire and arousal, delayed or absence of ejaculation, absence or delayed organism, and even erectile dysfunction. The incidence of sexual dysfunction is as follow: 72.7 percent for citalopram, 70.7 percent for paroxetine, 62.9 percent for sertraline, 62.3 percent for fluvoxamine, and 5.72 percent for fluoxetine.
Another review by Mark Jeffrey Noble and Milton Lakin of the Urologic Institute of Cleveland Clinic Foundation show topical anesthetic agents appeared safest, causing only skin rushes, eruption and other irritation. PDE5 inhibitors, Dr. Noble reported in eMedicine (2005), can lead to stroke and life-threatening irregular heart rhythm.
There is also danger for deformed penis, tendency towards painful erection (priapism), and retinitis pigmentosa (an eye problem that can lead to blindness). (0927-872-3821 or e-mail to zim_breakthroughs@yahoo.com)
