To print: Select File and then Print from your browser's menu --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Title: BAUS: Uprima (Apomorphine) May Become An Alternative To Sildenafil For Erectile Dysfunction URL: http://www.pslgroup.com/dg/1FFADE.htm Doctor's Guide June 29, 2001
By David Jack Special to DG News
DUBLIN, IRELAND -- June 29, 2000 -- More than 30 studies on apomorphine have been carried out in over 4,000 patients with erectile dysfunction and these have confirmed its safety and efficacy.
Professor John Mulhall, Loyola University Medical Center, Illinois, United States, presented a review of the research on Uprima (apomorphine) in erectile dysfunction during an Abbott-hosted satellite symposium at the British Association of Urological Surgeons, in Dublin, Ireland.
Apomorphine has now been approved throughout in the European Union and became available in the United Kingdom two weeks ago and in Ireland last week. Takeda, the Japanese pharmaceutical company that discovered the drug, is marketing apomorphine as Ixense.
Apomorphine, which is administered sublingually, acts within 20 minutes compared with the one hour needed for another erectile dysfunction drug, sildenafil. Prof. Mulhall called this "the spontaneity factor" because it makes sexual intercourse more natural. He believes this difference will appeal particularly to younger men.
Referring to his own experience in the US, Mulhall claimed that only 25 percent of men with erectile dysfunction actually consult a doctor.
Urology experts at the meeting welcomed the arrival of apomorphine because it now offers them a choice, especially since it works via a completely different mechanism of action compared with that of sildenafil -- central rather than peripheral.
Patients with stable angina that is being controlled by nitrates can also take apomorphine safely. This important sub-group of patients has been specifically investigated in a number of trials of the drug.
Another advantage of sublingual administration is that food and alcohol do not affect its absorption, so that the idea of a candle-lit supper with wine before sex is a real possibility, Prof. Mulhall said. If swallowed, apomorphine is inactive.
The starting dose is 2 mg and this can be increased to 3 mg if required. Doses higher than this do not have any added benefit, Prof. Mulhall said.
Side effects are relatively minor, the main ones being nausea (6.8 percent), headache (6.7 percent) and dizziness (4.4 percent), and these generally only appear on starting treatment.
There have been no deaths or myocardial infarctions in any of the studies carried out to date, he said. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright © 1999 P\S\L Consulting Group Inc. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of P\S\L content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of P\S\L. P\S\L shall not be liable for any errors, omissions or delays in this content or any other content on its sites, newsletters or other publications, nor for any decisions or actions taken in reliance on such content. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This news story was printed from *Doctor's Guide to the Internet* located at http://www.docguide.com --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return to News Story Page This site is maintained by webmaster@pslgroup.com Please contact us with any comments, problems or bugs. All contents Copyright (c) 1998 P\S\L Consulting Group Inc. All rights reserved.