ED Drug Relieves Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms (HealthDay)

TUESDAY, Aug. 19 (HealthDay News) -- A daily dose of the erectiledysfunction drug tadalafil (Cialis) helped relieve lower urinary tractsymptoms in men with signs of enlarged prostates, according to a newstudy.

More than 50 percent of men age 50 and older have lower urinary tractsymptoms, including increased urination frequency and urgency, straining,intermittence, incomplete emptying or a weak urinary stream. Current drugsused to treat the condition can produce side effects such as dizziness,low blood pressure and sexual dysfunction.

In this study that included 1,056 men in 10 countries, the men wererandomly divided into five groups that received either a placebo ortadalafil doses of 2.5, 5.0, 10.0 or 20.0 milligrams a day. All doses ofthe drug were superior to a placebo for relieving lower urinary tractsymptoms (LUTS), with statistically significant effects at four, eight and12 weeks.

The study, which included researchers from drug maker Lilly, ispublished in the October issue of The Journal of Urology.

"Since reports of erectile dysfunction (ED) incidence, pathophysiologyand treatment have shown a possible link between [enlarged prostate] andED. PDE5 inhibitors like tadalafil (Cialis) have received increasedattention for treating BPH LUTS, although they are currently only approvedfor ED. The half-life of tadalafil is 17.5 hours, making it suitable asonce daily therapy. Although the precise mechanism of action by which PDE5inhibitors may alleviate LUTS is not completely understood, severalputative mechanisms are currently under investigation." researcher Dr.Claus G. Roehrborn, professor of urology at the University of TexasSouthwestern Medical Center at Dallas, said in a journal news release.

More information

The U.S. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and KidneyDiseases has more about .