Erectile dysfunction is the inability of males to get a sustainable erection in response to an intimate stimulus. ED is commonly known as impotence and mostly occurs in old age but there is also an incidence of ED at a young age due to other co-morbid conditions.
A normal erection requires the cavernosal and arterial smooth muscles to relax, so the vasodilation can increase blood flow to the genitals and the blood can fill the cavernosal sinuses for erection. If this mechanism is disturbed by any means, blood flow to the genitals is compromised resulting in erectile dysfunction.
The treatment for erectile dysfunction is focused on improving circulation to the genitals by inducing smooth muscle relaxation and vasodilation.
Till now you heard about the three conventional treatments for erectile dysfunction that are,
- Oral medications
- Intracavernosal injections
- Penile implants.
Oral medications:
The most effective class of oral medications are the Phosphodiesterase type-5 (PDE-5) inhibitors, which help the arterial and cavernosal smooth muscles to relax and allows more blood flow inside the cavernosal sinuses. All these events combine to make erection possible.
These medications include Viagra, Kamagra oral jelly, Levitra and Cialis.
Another class of oral medications called the Selective Serotonin Re-uptake Inhibitors (SSRI) also help erectile dysfunction, for example, Priligy.
Intracavernosal Injections:
This is one of the early treatment options for erectile dysfunction and the procedure involves injecting Alprostadil or a combination of other drugs into the penis. It is an effective treatment option for erectile dysfunction with the least side effects. Because of the self-injecting method, the patient can control the number of drugs delivered and that’s why adverse effects can be prevented with lower doses.
Penile implants:
This is an invasive method that involves surgical insertion of penile implants to help men with erectile dysfunction get a normal erection. Penile implants are always the last treatment option when other methods fail to treat ED.
Penile implants can either be semi-rigid or inflatable and both have their use functional mechanisms.
But here we have some more and advanced techniques that are newly emerging as a result of researches in the medical field. These are,
Dopaminergic agents:
Dopaminergic drugs were approved in Europe but the FDA did not give it recognition in the USA as there are higher risks of hypotension after consumption of these drugs.
Melanocortin receptor agonist:
These drugs can help with erectile dysfunction but their use was associated with severe complications because of which the use of these drugs was discontinued.
Guanylyl cyclase activator:
This drug was found to be helpful in patients having cavernosal nerve injury who could not benefit from nitric oxide pathway medications. Although these drugs induced significant cavernosal muscle relaxations they were not approved for continuous use.
Topic agents:
They are a good option for patients who feel sick after oral medications because these agents have lesser side effects and are only externally applied.
Stem cell therapy:
This method is only examined in animals studies and showed significant results but has not yet been tested on humans. In animal studied these were effective in cases of cavernosal nerve damage.
Supplements:
A lot of people believe in supplements more than medications but supplements are not a good option. The reason for this is that supplements do not provide any clear information about the ingredients used and the mechanism of action. Most ED supplements are also not approved by the FDA.
Best treatment option:
Without any doubt, oral medications such as Kamagra oral jelly, are the best option for treating erectile dysfunction with lower side effects, fast mechanism of action, and easy-to-use properties.
