Just as the birthcontrol pill paved the way for the sexual revolution for the female population, Sildenafil Viagra has brought about its own revolution for the male spectrum. At the advent of this blue pill last year, millions of men have sought and received prescriptions of Viagra for the treatment of impotence, which doctors commonly refer to as erectile dysfunction. The rush for this medication and physicians’ willingness to dispense it mark a sea change in how people view the condition, which decades ago was considered to be mainly of psychogenic origin — in other words, ‘it’s all in your head.’
The Viagra revolution has brought a great impact for around 10% of the male population who will at some point in their lives face the complete inability to achieve or maintain a satisfactory penile erection. This condition, which becomes more prevalent with age, has the effect of making sexual intercourse difficult, if not impossible. Although proved medical interventions have been available for more than 20 years, recent advances in the understanding of the processes that lead to an erection have spurred new treatments and promise even more targeted therapies in the future.
Popping a Pill
In the tradition of previous erectile-dysfunction therapy discoveries, the erectioninducing effect of sildenafil more commonly known by its brand name, Viagra Australia— was discovered in advertently. While performing clinical studies of sildenafil as a treatment for heart failure, researchers noticed that a statistically significant number of men were getting erections after taking the drug. Knowing a good thing when they saw it, the researchers began a separate clinical program to evaluate the drug as an impotence treatment. The heart treatment protocol was eventually dropped because of a high rate of fatal arrhythmias. But as a treatment for impotence, Viagra be- came the fastest- selling new drug on record, registering worldwide sales of some S700 mil- lion in its first nine months on the market.
Viagra works by inhibiting the degradation of cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP), which is the last molecule in the chemical cascade that causes an erection. Viagra blocks the activity of one type of phosphodiesterase, an intracellular enzyme found in vascular smooth muscle. This enzyme normally breaks down cGMP, but when Viagra inhibits the enzyme, the cGMP remains active, and the signal for smooth muscle relaxation is left in the ‘on’ position.