Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2008 Dec;4(6):1315-30.
doi: 10.2147/tcrm.s3336.

Tadalafil in the treatment of erectile dysfunction

Robert M Coward  1 , Culley C Carson
Affiliations

Tadalafil in the treatment of erectile dysfunction

Robert M Coward et al. Ther Clin Risk Manag. 2008 Dec.

Abstract

The treatment for erectile dysfunction (ED) was revolutionized with the development of phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE5) inhibitors. Tadalafil (Cialis((R)); Eli Lilly and Company, Indianapolis, IN, USA) is the newest and most versatile PDE5 inhibitor in the clinical armamentarium for the treatment of ED. Its most unique characteristic is its long half-life of 17.5 hours, which lends itself to a longer therapeutic window with on-demand dosing and effective steady-state plasma concentrations with once-daily dosing. Clinical trials have proven its safety and efficacy with both dosing strategies for all severities and etiologies of ED, including difficult-to-treat ED. This thorough review will discuss ED, the physiology of penile erection and the role of PDE5, and all aspects of tadalafil, from its development, through its pharmacology, to its latest clinical studies and indications.

Keywords: Cialis; PDE5 inhibitors; erectile dysfunction; penile erection; phosphodiesterase type 5; tadalafil.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Molecular structure of tadalafil.
Figure 2
Figure 2
IIEF-EF, SEP-Q2, and SEP-Q3 improvements from baseline to 12 weeks with on-demand tadalafil. aErectile function domain score of the International Index of Erectile Function. bQuestion 2 from the Sexual Encounter Profile diary, “Were you able to insert your penis into your partner’s vagina?” cQuestion 3 from the Sexual Encounter Profile diary, “Did your erection last long enough for you to have successful intercourse?” *p< 0.001 versus placebo. Data from an integrated analysis of 2102 patients in 11 randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials. Adapted with permission from Carson CC, Rajfer J, Eardley I, et al 2004a. The efficacy and safety of tadalafil: an update. BJU Int, 93:1276–81. Copyright © 2004 Wiley-Blackwell.
Figure 3
Figure 3
IIEF-EF, SEP-Q2, and SEP-Q3 improvements from baseline to 24 weeks with once-daily tadalafil. aErectile function domain score of the International Index of Erectile Function. bQuestion 2 from the Sexual Encounter Profile diary, “Were you able to insert your penis into your partner’s vagina?” cQuestion 3 from the Sexual Encounter Profile diary, “Did your erection last long enough for you to have successful intercourse?” *p < 0.001 versus placebo. Data from a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of 268 men to study once-daily tadalafil over 24 weeks. Adapted with permission from Rajfer J, Aliotta PJ, Steidle CP, et al 2007. Tadalafil dosed once a day in men with erectile dysfunction: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study in the US. Int J Impot Res, 19:95–103. Copyright © 2007 Macmillan Publishers Ltd.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Althof SE, Corty EW, Levine SB, et al. EDITS: development of questionnaires for evaluating satisfaction with treatments for erectile dysfunction. Urology. 1999;53:793–9. - PubMed
    1. Briganti A, Salonia A, Gallina A, et al. Drug Insight: oral phospho-diesterase type 5 inhibitors for erectile dysfunction. Nat Clin Pract Urol. 2005;2:239–47. - PubMed
    1. Burnett AL, Bivalacqua TJ, Champion HC, et al. Long-term oral phosphodiesterase 5 inhibitor therapy alleviates recurrent priapism. Urology. 2006;67:1043–8. - PubMed
    1. Butcher RW, Sutherland EW. Adenosine 3’,5’-phosphate in biological materials. I. Purification and properties of cyclic 30,50-nucleotide phosphodiesterase and use of this enzyme to characterize adenosine 3’,5’-phosphate in human urine. J Biol Chem. 1962;237:1244–50. - PubMed
    1. Brock GB, McMahon CG, Chen KK, et al. Efficacy and safety of tadalafil for the treatment of erectile dysfunction: results of integrated analyses. J Urol. 2002a;168:1332–6. - PubMed