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On Thursday, they announced that they had filed a total of 17 lawsuits against individuals associated with the sale and distribution of Viagra. By filing the lawsuits they now can subpoena the internet service providers to track down the defendants and hopefully do something to halt some of the deluge of spam.

The two companies said that 1 in 4 spam emails offer Viagra, which Pfizer manufacture. Often consumers are duped into thinking they are from genuine Pfizer suppliers, only to end up with counterfeit medication that is more likely to result in a heart attack than an earth-shattering night of pleasure.

Honestly, 17 lawsuits are unlikely to make much of a difference to the amount of spam flying about the internet, or indeed to the numbers of consumers buying illegal medication on the web, but it is the first time that a pharmaceutical company has teamed up with a nanotechnology firm to at least try. For Pfizer, even making a marginal difference to the amount of counterfeiting of Viagra can net them millions of dollars worth of lost revenue.

I still think I will continue to get lots of offers to  make my imaginary willy bigger and stronger, but I shall take comfort in the fact that Pfizer and Microsoft are on my side. Sort of.

A new NHS pamphlet encouraging pensioners to rev up their sex lives with Viagra and dating agencies has been criticised as a waste of public funds. The 60-page booklet cost £13,700 and has been distributed to older people in the Medway area of Kent.

As well as informing women that sex boosts oestrogen and so can prevent heart disease and osteoporosis, it also advised that they could improve their bladder control as regular sessions in the bedroom would strengthen pelvic floor muscles.

The booklet advises the older generation about the benefits of the erectile dysfunction medication Viagra, which is often used by more elderly men to restore their ability to achieve an erection, which decreases with age. It is believed that 50% of men over 40 will experience the problem at some point. It also warns that everyone who is sexually active – regardless of their age – needs to get regular sexual health check-ups.

The Tax Payers Alliance, which monitors use of tax-payers money, have lambasted the booklet as an “obscene” waste of money, suggesting that it could be viewed as an interference with people’s private lives and that the money could have been spent on operations.

However Tricia Butt, development manager at Medway Older Persons Partnership, who supported its publication, has rejected the criticisms. She pointed out that old age didn’t mean the end of “libidinal energy” and said that if it helped people, then it could not be called a waste of money.

Further proof of the potential for other uses of the erectile dysfunction drug Viagra came this week when it emerged that the medication saved the life of a baby who was given just weeks to live.

Alfie Oliver was diagnosed with narrow blood vessels around his lungs after he was born and at just a few days old underwent a series of dangerous heart operations to repair the condition. After he suffered a heart attack, his doctors believed there was nothing more to be done to save his life.

The baby was diagnosed with two different conditions, transposition of the great arteries – meaning that his pulmonary artery and aorta were in reversed positions – and pulmonary hypertension. At sixteen days, he was operated on to reverse the position of the arteries but despite a promising start was readmitted to hospital.

Hope came when Great Ormond Street doctors heard about his prognosis and suggested that doses of Viagra might open up his narrow vessels and improve his circulation. The treatment worked, and now Alfie has reached his 1^st birthday, a milestone his parents and family thought they would not ge to see.

The medication has been particularly successful as due to his age, Alfie has experienced none of the side effects usually associated with the drug.

Previous studies have already shown that Viagra can relieve pulmonary hypertension in newborns and may be particularly useful in developing countries, which cannot afford the more expensive drugs usually used to treat the condition.

Men suffering from impotence usually will visit their doctor to get a prescription for one of the three erectile dysfunction medications to help them perform. However a new invention claims that bursts of light may be a non-medical solution to the problem.

The’ Lovelight’ has been shown to improve men’s sexual performance by emitting bursts of fluorescent light. Early tests seem to indicate that the device helped 3 out of 5 have a better experience in bed. The group of volunteers, who were suffering from a variety of sexual problems ranging from lack of desire to impotence to the inability to achieve orgasm, for half an hour were exposed to the light in the morning for two weeks.

Following the trial period, 3 out of the 5 men reported that their problem had gone away, compared to the second test group who were exposed to dim rather than florescent light. The team of researchers, from Siena University in Italy, believe that the improvement was due to the light promoting reaction in the brain’s pineal gland, which plays a role in sexual function.

Scientists in Italy have made a rather remarkable discovery: hydrogen sulphide - the vile smelling gas emitted from rotten eggs - has a role to play in the formation of penile erections. The discovery was made in a rather bizarre way: hydrogen sulphide was injected into the penile tissue of the discarded sex organs of eight male to female transsexuals.  The discovery was made by Professor Giuseppe Cirino of the University of Naples.

The role of hydrogen sulphide gives researchers a new target for potential erectile dysfunction drugs.  The market leaders - Cialis and Viagra - only have around a 75% success rate and although some current ED drugs will work for some patients but not others, we estimate that around 20% of men who suffer from erectile dysfunction do not respond to any of the pharmaceutical treatments currently available.

The effects of sildenafil (the active ingredient in Viagra) on men suffering from erectile dysfunction was, like so many drugs, discovered by accident.  It was only after observations were made in wide-scale clinical trials of sildenafil in men being treated for angina that the role of nitric oxide in the formation and maintenece of penile erections was actually identified.

The new research will undoubtedly lead to the development of drugs for clinical trial in this very lucrative field so there will be more news on this front in the next few years - that much can be guaranteed!

The glamorous actor/tv presenter/model Kelly Brook has recently been embarrassed after it was revealed that a Chinese firm of condom manufacturers have been using her image to promote their brand of condoms, without her permission. The sexy photo, featuring Brook in a shiny gold bikini, has been printed onto the boxes of 12 and sold in a variety of Chinese supermarkets. Chinese Eyesome (their name is wildly appropriate considering the photos), the manufacturers, have also used photos of the American Beauty actress Mena Suvari.

The illicit use of the celebrity photos follows on from the scandal caused when another Chinese firm selling erectile dysfunction medication ran television adverts using those figureheads of virility, David Beckham, Sean Connery and Keanu Reeves. The Beckham ads show dodgy footage of the football star running across a pitch, before the even dodgier voice-over informs us that the tablets are “the secret weapon with which I can satisfy Victoria” and help him “keep strong and running on the football field.” An even better recommendation comes from the Matrix actor (ish), who lets us know, “After using USA Selikon to wash out my kidneys I had a very happy surprise. Of course, the happy surprise also belongs to my girlfriends!”

We have a few questions. Firstly, what exactly does it mean to wash out your kidneys? It sounds not only unappealing but very unerotic. Then, how would showing a Western celeb on a Chinese packet of condoms put a couple in the mood for sex? Getting naked is hard enough without being confronted at the salient moment by a stunning, unobtainable girl who looks nothing like you/your partner. Clearly marketing in the Chinese sexual health industry is all about celebrity ‘endorsement’ and absolutely nothing to do with legality or morals. Still, we just want to see whose photo gets used next...

We’re not sure if Pfizer, the makers of Viagra, will be overly loving this celebrity endorsement but superstar rapper Kanye West has dedicated his new single to extolling the popular wonder drug. The single is taken from 88-Keys debut album The Death of Adam and has been co-produced by Kanye.

Entitled “Stay Up (Viagra)”, the track sees the massively popular musician envisaging an old age when perhaps his potency is waning slightly. The lyrics - erm – poignantly capture the trauma faced by millions of men suffering from E.D. “What she got is so Niagara", he raps sensitively, “Make a young n***** straight need Viagra.” The song continues eloquently, “Just to keep from all the ‘tee-hees’ and laughter/Her telling her home-girls that he couldn’t stay up”.

We do hope Lilly and Bayer, makers of Viagra-rivals Cialis and Levitra, don’t get too jealous. What’s next – Fifty-Cent and Snoop-Dog promoting their medications? If any representatives from the companies are reading, please, please, please consider it – you would be making our year…

A group of GPs has called for a rethink of the NHS’s current guidelines regarding the treatment of erectile dysfunction, saying that the current policies are ‘discriminatory.’ Pulse, a weekly medical publication, has reported that as GPs get ready for a flood of patients seeking the new one-a-day treatment recently approved by the European medicine regulatory body, questions are starting to be raised as to the availability of free treatment.

At the moment, only 15% of patients are entitled to free treatment and the current Department of Health recommendation is that those patients should have enough pills for a sexual encounter once a week though as many as one in ten men suffer from the condition. Patients must have one of 12 conditions to be entitled to free treatment. The new treatment is a lower-dose version of the popular pill Cialis, which taken once a day would allow for spontaneous sexual encounters whenever desired.

Professor Mike Kirby, a former urology specialist and visiting professor at the University of Hertfordshire said that he did “not think it is right to keep free treatment restricted full stop, and it’s a great shame that it has not been reviewed.” Another doctor, Patrick Wright, said that he found it odd that someone with mild diabetes was eligible while someone with cardiovascular disease was not.

The Department of Health said that while they believed that one treatment per week was suitable for most patients, it was recommended that doctors treat on a case-by-case basis, meaning that some patients might be prescribed more than one treatment a week.

Younger men suffering from erectile dysfunction have a doubled risk of developing heart disease, according to scientists from the renowned Mayo Clinic in America. Studying 1,402 men over ten years, they found that the highest risk for developing coronary artery disease was in younger men aged between 40 and 49. Even more alarmingly, the research indicated that men with erectile problems were 80% more likely to develop heart disease.

The Mayo Clinic has previously done two other studies examining the link between heart problems and erectile dysfunction. One predicted that younger men with erectile issues were more likely to develop both conditions, but until now they were not able to study the men over a long period of time.

The study was not conclusive as to why the two conditions are linked. Some doctors have theorised that erectile dysfunction and heart disease are caused by a common disease process. It is possible that the same build up of fat in the heart that blocks the heart’s arteries may block the arteries in the penis first, therefore causing the dysfunction. It has also been suggested that over time, arteries can lose their elasticity which may also contribute to disease, and this would first be noticed in the penis.

Erectile dysfunction is a common disorder and becomes more common as men age. Of men aged over 40 it affects between 5 %and 10% of men, and by the time they reach 70 this has increased to between 40% and 60%. The research indicates that with those who are diagnosed early – in their forties – doctors should consider this an early sign marking the patient as a likely candidate for heart trouble and should therefore take appropriate steps to treat this.

We are all familiar with the idea of ‘brewer’s droop’, where men who drink too much are unable to achieve or sustain an erection. While undoubtedly consuming excessive drink may impair a man’s ability to perform in bed, a new study has suggested that conversely, a small amount of alcohol can in fact improve erectile function.

Australian scientists have published research in the Journal of Sexual Health that indicates that men who drank a moderate amount of alcohol reported 30% less sexual problems than tee-totallers. The researchers from the Keogh Institute for Medical Research, in Western Australia, carried out a study of 1,580 men. They found that amongst low-risk drinkers (that is those who consumed up to 4 drinks a day for up to five days a week) there was a favourable link with positive erectile function.  Men who drank at weekends or binged had a lower rate of erectile dysfunction than those who only drank once a week or not at all.

However, they did find that the men who performed worst were the heavy drinkers who had given up, those who smoked and those with heart disease. As binging is associated with poor health, it might be argued that short-term bingers might not see their sexual performance affected, but long term as their health deteriorate they might begin to suffer.

The study suggested that better performance might be linked to the freeing properties of alcohol, pointing out “alcohol may increase sexual desire through disinhibition”.

A new study has revealed that obese men may be at risk of suffering from erectile dysfunction. Published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine, the findings showed that obese men often have a significantly lower level of hormones, which affects sex drive. Studying a group of nearly 2,500 men seeking treatment for erectile dysfunction, the researchers discovered that excess weight was a significant factor in physical causes of sexual dysfunction, though it did not play a part in psychological or relationship-based causes.

They found a direct link between the weight of the patient and their levels of testosterone, which decreased as the weight increased. Testosterone is the key hormone in determining sex drive. Two out of three obese patients had low testosterone and it was also shown that overweight patients had low blood flow to the penis. A previous study has already linked excess abdominal fat with erectile problems.

The study will perhaps provide men with that extra push to keep their health in check. Diabetes, heart disease - such threats can perhaps seem vague and far off in the future. Reduced potency may be enough of a threat to prompt serious action. It is particularly unfortunate that obesity can reduce a man’s ability to have sex for sex is actually very good exercise; a vigorous session can burn as many calories as time on an exercise bike…

For a considerable time, scientists have suspected that there may be a link between sleep apnoea and erectile dysfunction. Now a study published in the September edition of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine has gone a long way towards proving it.

Sleep apnoea is a condition where there are pauses or shallow breathing as someone sleeps. The pauses can last from a few seconds to minutes, and typically occur between 5 and 30 times an hour. The condition can seriously disrupt the sleep patterns of those who suffer from it and therefore impact on their daily lives, but the new information indicates that it can also be a major problem for their sex lives.

Research done at the University of Louisianna has shown that when mice suffered from chronic intermittent hypoxia - the same lack of oxygen those who have sleep apnoea experience - it resulted in a decrease in their daily spontaneous erections of 55%. After five weeks, there was a sixty-fold decrease in the number of times the mice attempted to mate. The mice responded well to two treatments, firstly when their oxygen levels were returned to normal and secondly when they were given Cialis, the erectile dysfunction medication, which increases the availability of nitric oxide.

The study has implications for the diagnosis and treatment of some forms of erectile dysfunction. Writing on the website of Urology Today, researchers from Seoul, who have also just completed a study into the links between the two conditions, recommended that “male patients with OSAS (obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome) should be screened for erectile dysfunction”. This would seem to work both ways, in that by testing patients with erectile dysfunction for sleep apnoea, doctors could gain a better understanding of the cause of their condition. As we discover more about the relationship between sleep patterns and erectile function, the hope is that better treatments for condition will follow.

A study has recently published findings stating that male circumcision does not impair male sexual function, but in fact may improve the sex lives of those who have had the procedure done. The study, lead by John Krieger of the Universit y of Washington, followed 2,684 Kenyan men over three years , of whom 98% stated that they were happy with their circumcision. In the Journal of Sexual Health, which published the study, Kreiger revealed that rather than impairing sexual performance as some believed, most of the men experienced “both greater penile sensitivity and easier use of condoms.”

Online shopping in a very modern phenomenon: there is no need to trawl around shops on the off chance of finding something you will like or, if you have a particular product in mind, finding that it is not stocked or out of stock.

Viagra, Cialis and Levitra are extremely effective treatments for mild to moderate cases of erectile Dysfunction. For most men suffering with ED, these PDE-5 inhibitors provide the most suitable option. Viagra has been available for over ten years and has helped millions of men across the globe. There are, however, men for whom oral Erectile Dysfunction medication is not an option. For these sufferers it might then seem that there is no real option available to them. This, however, is not the case.

Dr Peter Muench, a prominent urologist has said this week that the improvements in penile implants over the last few years mean that it is the best and most suitable option for many men suffering from serious ED.

The kind of Erectile Dysfunction cases which are untreatable by oral medication are usually those which have been caused by prostate cancer. Research has shown men who are prescribed Viagra post operatively have a far greater chance of achieving a spontaneous erection after three months. Some men, however, do not respond to this method of treatment and it is this category of men that Dr. Muench thinks is most suitable for penile implants.

He says that implants have the best level of satisfaction in both the patients and their partners than any other type of treatment, including oral medication. He says that the implants provide maximum rigidity, durability and concealability. Improvements in the implants have also meant that the risk of infection is now much less than it used to be thanks to the fact that the manufacturers coat the implants in antibiotics.

Dr. Muench also says that a penile implant not only restores erectile function but improves on it. He says that a penile prosthesis can actually help a man to perform better than his peers and better than he did in his prime because the implant stays erect until he chooses to deflate it.

Dr. Muench, perhaps, slightly overstates his case in suggesting that a penile implant will help a man to become some kind of super stud. Most of the men who have this operation would probably be delighted in the fact that they have restored erectile function without having to perform all night to prove it!

New research from the University of Chicago debunks a popular myth about Erectile Dysfunction. In it scientists suggest that ED is not an inevitable part of the aging process but rather that it is related to a number of factors. The fact that physical health, that is to say general well being, is one of the factors is not surprising, neither perhaps is a man’s mental health and well being. What the research has also found, however, is that social demographics and past sexual health history also play a significant role in whether or not a man will suffer from ED.

Men are notoriously bad when it comes to matters concerning their health. Not all men of course but, if you pay heed to the statistics, the vast majority. Men are far less frequent visitors to their GPs and, it seems, are far less aware of their own bodies and the heath problems that they may incur simply due to the fact that they are men.

There are magazines which purport to be about ‘men’s health’ though if one has a quick look past the image of a ripped fitness model on the cover it quickly becomes apparent that these magazines are about building ‘better’ bodies and by that we do not necessarily mean healthier. These magazines are intended for those who want to look better, ‘get your beach body in ten days’, ‘how to get killer abs’ or ‘how to win a woman’ seems to be the main emphasis.

There are health pages in the daily papers but the stories are usually more sensationalist than everyday health matters. Women on the whole seem far more knowledgeable when it comes to their bodies; many go for cervical smears and check their breasts for lumps. I doubt the percentage is comparable to the number of men who regularly check their testicles for lumps. So is it machismo or ignorance that makes many men so lackadaisical about their health? Perhaps it is a combination of the two.

The problem is serious enough, however, for the UK Government to be launching a new initiative aimed at men over forty. A survey which has just been published has revealed that only ten per cent of men in their early to mid forties realise that they may suffer from erectile dysfunction in the next ten years of their lives even though the problem affects forty per cent of all men over the age of forty. Most of the men who were questioned did not realise that erectile dysfunction could be symptomatic of serious conditions such as diabetes or heart disease. The new campaign will be called 40over40, a reference to the percentage of men who will suffer from ED over that age.

Erectile dysfunction is, thanks to drugs such as Viagra, Cialis and Levitra, a treatable condition in a way that it never was only a decade ago. Regardless of that fact, however, it is time for men to pay more attention to their health and well being. After all, to cite the old saying, it is the most valuable thing that we will ever own.

We have just seen some information on a product called Prelox which claims to solve erectile dysfunction in a completely natural way.  The compound consists of Pycnogenol, an antioxidant derived from a certain time of maritime pine tree, and L-Arginine aspartate, an amino acid.  The compound has been awarded a patent in the US for the treatment of erectile dysfunction and the research that we have read seems to suggest that this product has a high rate of success.  The full study is to be published in the International Journal of Impotence Research.

Prelox is a food supplement so it would be required to be taken on a regular basis rather than just as a one off when sex was desired as is the case with the conventional treatments for erectile dysfunction.  According to the published information that we have seen, Prelox has a satisfaction rate of around 85% which is pretty amazing.  What is not clear from the research is how bad the erectile function in each of the patients was to begin with.  Further information can be found at Prelox

NexMed has filed for approval in the US of its transdermal patch which delivers alprostadil to solve erectile dysfunction.  Alprostadil already exists in the UK as a urethra suppository (MUSE) and an injection (Caverject.)  If no further information is requested then approval could come in 8 months.

No data was available for the success rate of this delivery mechanism but it may be suitable for cases that cannot be treated with first line solutions such as Viagra.  The inconvenient delivery mechanism for current alprostadil prescriptions has meant that the treatment is not popular with most men.

We will bring more news as and when we have it.

We have been bringing you news about the development of a potential new treatment for erectile dysfunction called Bremelanotide.  Unfortunately, this first in class melanocortin agonist drug will not be progressing to Phase 3 trials at the current time.  This follows representations from the US Food and Drug Agency, which did not believe that the efficacy and the associated risks/benefits justified the trials going ahead. Apparently the success rates from the phase 2 trials were not too impressive and there was a high incidence of raised blood pressure.  It is thought that the FDA was amenable to a progression to phase 3 trials on the basis that the drug would be a second line treatment where the existing PDE5 inhibitors, such as Viagra, had not worked.  This appears to be unacceptable to the patent holders at the current time.  If and when we get further news, we will post further information here.  For additional information, please have a look at the Palatin Technologies website.

An article has appeared in Perspecives on Prostate Disease which flies in the face of traditional advice dispensed to men recovering from a radical prostatectomy (complete removal of the prostate gland.)  The lack of erections following prostate surgery has been attributed to nerve damage which should heal over time. It has been advised that men should wait until the nerve damage has healed before they attempt to get an erection but it would appear that allowing the penis to remain flaccid for an extended period of time (sometimes up to 2 years before complete healing has taken place) could actually damage the prospects of ever being able to get a normal (i.e. unaided by drugs or other medical intervention) erection ever again.

By remaining flaccid for long periods of time, the penis becomes deprived of oxygen and will become similar to scar tissue where the lack of flexibility may prevent vessels within the penis from expanding as they become filled with blood.  If the penis is exercised then it is more likely that normal unaided function will resume with the passage of time.

Research into penile rehabilitation following prostate surgery is not perfect and we recommend that patients discuss this matter with their consultant before they embark on a course of action which could be damaging. If you are approaching The Online Clinic to discuss erectile dysfunction following a radical prostatectomy then it is important that you disclose this information.

A study in China involving 7,684 men has concluded that smoking can be a major contributory factor to erectile dysfunction.  This is something that we have long suspected but this authoritative piece of research to be published in the American Journal of Epidemiology demonstrated that the statistical link is significant.

There appeared to be a direct correlation between the quantity of cigarettes smoked and the incidence or severity of the erectile problems.  There also appeared to be a stronger association in participants who also had diabetes.  The study included men aged 35-75 who did not have any vascular disease.

Help is at hand here if you want to give up smoking.  We are prepared to prescribe Champix for smoking cessation and there are a number of treatments for erectile dysfunction, including Viagra , that we are also prepared to prescribe.  As always, whether we will prescribe something will depend on your medical circumstances so you must complete a consultation form before we can make a decision.

Back in January we brought you news of an exciting new drug in development which can be used to treat erectile dysfunction in men and hypoactive sexual desire disorder in women.  We now have information that the Phase IIb trials for use in men were a success and a meeting has been arranged with the FDA in August to discuss the results and to run through the requirements for the Phase III trials.  Bremelanotide tackles erectile dysfunction in a completely different way from the current generation of drugs such as Viagra.  Bremelanotide targets the central nervous system and is the first medication in a class known as melanocortin agonists.  Because of the way that this new medicine works, it is unlikely to be contraindicated for patients with heart problems or who use nitrates.  Although it will be a while before this medication is available to prescribe, initial findings do appear positive.