Future Erectile Dysfunction Treatments

Most everyone is probably familiar with the three FDA-approved erectile dysfunction medications – Viagra, Cialis, and Levitra. While these three drugs are successfully helping countless men with their erectile difficulties, testing is underway on new drugs that will offer more effective, faster-acting treatment, paired with fewer (or no) side effects than current treatment medications.

Avanafil is an erectile dysfunction treatment medication being developed by pharmaceutical company VIVUS. Like the 3 existing ED treatment medications, Avanafil is an oral phosphodiesterase inhibitor. Avanafil differs because it will be a twice daily medication, allowing people to have intercourse more than once a day.

Zoraxel is a medication being developed by the pharmaceutical company Rexahn. Unlike PDE-5 inhibitors like Viagra, Cialis, and Levitra, Zoraxel works by activating serotonin and dopamine neurotransmitters in the brain, which are mostly responsible for the feeling of sexual pleasure. This drug will be beneficial to men who are unable to take Viagra, Cialis, or Levitra due to health issues like heart disease and blood pressure problems.

Topiglan is a topical gel being developed by MacroChem. This gel is applied to the head of the penis less than an hour before intercourse. Topiglan contains alprostadil, a medicine that is currently available in injection form to treat erectile dysfunction.

Gene therapy could potentially be an option for treating erectile dysfunction in the future. The basic idea behind this method is to deliver protein-producing genes that will replace proteins in the penile tissue that aren’t functioning properly. Animal testing of this method has seen success in erectile function improvement.