A large percentage of men who have been diagnosed with erectile dysfunction are not seeking treatment even though many of the options that do work are available, according to the findings of recent research. The findings which were released at the 28th Annual European Association of Urology Congress in Milan, revealed that a large scale study involving 6,228,509 patients diagnosed with erectile dysfunction (ED) determined that up to 75 per cent of those patients did not seek treatment for the condition after they had been diagnosed.
Patients were considered to have been “treated” if they filled a prescription for a phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitor, had urethral prostaglandins treatment or had received prescriptions for androgen replacement therapy. The patients who were labelled as “untreated” were those who received a diagnosis of ED, but did not follow through by having a prescription filled.
The overall reason for the study was to try to understand the frequency of use of the various medical therapies for treating the condition. The surprising revelation that so few men with ED actually seek treatment shows the need for recognition of an underserved medical condition that needs to be highlighted by doctors and other medical professionals.
ED is usually treated with one of three modalities: phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitor pills like Viagra or Cialis which increase blood flow to the penis during sexual stimulation; penile prostaglandin injection or urethral prostaglandin suppositories which work as a vasodilator; or, androgen replacement that can give a boost to testosterone levels.
Interestingly, the study found that the majority of men with ED who did actually seek treatment most commonly used phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitor pills. The number of those seeking this version of treatment was 75.2 per cent.
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