In the past, there have been
several reports about the variation in outcome from taking PDE5 inhibitors, such
as tadalafil that is the active ingredient in Cialis, on an as-needed basis.
While some men have been able to return to normal erectile functioning, others
have reported less than optimal results. However, recently a study came out to
suggest that regularly taking PDE5 inhibitors significantly improved a
patient’s outcome.
The study, which was published in
Journal of Sexual Medicine, was a
randomized, double blind trial that was carried out in a total of 51 sites in
the US and Canada. Overall, 623 men over the age 18 with ILEF-EF scores between
17 and 26 took part. ILEF-EF is a questionnaire that is commonly used in
research to establish sexual function. Higher results on it indicate better
sexual function. The men were randomly assigned to one of two groups which
either received tadalafil or a placebo treatment that was to be used daily. The
men in the tadalafil group were further split into groups that received 2.5 mg
dosages and 5 mg dosages. The researchers measured their ILEF-EF scores before
the start of the study and after the treatment. The key findings indicated that
a significant number of men in both treatment groups were able to return to
ILEF-EF scores in the normal range after 12 weeks. Specifically, this was the
case for 38.7% of the men in the 2.5 mg group and 39.6% in the 5mg group. In
contrast to that, only 12.1% participants in the placebo group received similar
results. Lastly, it is worth mentioning that all the mentioned findings were
statistically significant. Based on this the researchers concluded that the use
of tadalafil could be beneficial for men whose ILEF-EF scores were below the
threshold for erectile dysfunction.
These
findings are encouraging, as the study utilised a double blind
placebo-treatment design. Although it is fair to say that more studies are
needed to replicate the current findings, the use of ILEF has placed the
current study in good stand to be compared to previous research. It is our hope
that the current findings are given their due weight in clinical assessments
when the issue of dosages and prescription arises. Further details of the study can be read here.