Journal of Andrology
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS

Journal of Andrology, Vol. 26, No. 3, May/June 2005
Copyright © American Society of Andrology
DOI: 10.2164/jandrol.04126

This Article
Right arrow Abstract Freely available
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Young, J. M.
Right arrow Articles by Ahuja, S.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Young, J. M.
Right arrow Articles by Ahuja, S.

Tadalafil Improved Erectile Function at Twenty-Four and Thirty-Six Hours After Dosing in Men With Erectile Dysfunction: US Trial

JAY M. YOUNG*, ROBERT A. FELDMAN{dagger}, STEPHEN M. AUERBACH{ddagger}, JOEL M. KAUFMAN§, CARMEN S. GARCIA||, WEI SHEN||, AILEEN M. MURPHY, CHARLES M. BEASLEY, JR.||, JAYNE A. HAGUE|| AND SANJEEV AHUJA||

From the * South Orange County Medical Research Center, Laguna Woods, California; the {dagger} CT Clinical Research Center, Waterbury, Connecticut; {ddagger} California Professional Research, Newport Beach, California; § Aurora Urology, Aurora, Colorado; || Eli Lilly and Company, Indianapolis, Indiana; and ZymoGenetics Inc, Seattle, Washington.

Correspondence to: Dr Jay M. Young, South Orange County Medical Research Center, 24301 Paseo de Valencia, Suite 100; Laguna Woods, CA 92653 (e-mail: jyoung20{at}cox.net).
Received for publication August 4, 2004; accepted for publication November 16, 2004.

   Abstract
 Top
 Abstract
 Materials and Methods
 Results
 Discussion
 References
 
In a previous study assessing tadalafil for the treatment of erectile dysfunction (ED), tadalafil 20 mg was shown to improve erectile function for up to 36 hours vs placebo. This study sought to demonstrate the effectiveness of both 10- and 20-mg tadalafil vs placebo at 2 prespecified assigned times of 24 and 36 hours postdosing. This double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group study randomized 483 men with ED into 6 groups according to a combination of treatment (placebo, tadalafil 10 or 20 mg) and assigned time (24 or 36 hours) for intercourse attempts. Patients were stratified by baseline ED severity based on Erectile Function Domain scores. The study had 4 phases: a 4-week run-in (no ED medication taken); a 2- to 4-week equilibration (dosing as needed); a 4- to 6-week assessment; and a 6-month open-label extension. During the assessment phase, men took a total of 4 doses of study medication, each dose separated by more than or equal to 7 days. Efficacy was measured as the mean per-patient percentage of successful intercourse attempts (Sexual Encounter Profile Diary Question 3: SEP3) during the assessment phase. Men taking either 10- or 20-mg tadalafil had a significant increase in SEP3 from baseline scores vs placebo at both 24 hours (P = .038 and <.001 for 10 and 20 mg, respectively) and 36 hours (P < .001 for both doses) postdose. The mean per-patient percentages of successful intercourse attempts for the 24-hour time point were 41.8%, 55.8%, and 67.3% for placebo and tadalafil 10 and 20 mg, respectively; for the 36-hour time point, the mean per-patient percentages were 32.8%, 56.2%, and 61.9% for placebo and tadalafil 10 and 20 mg, respectively. The most common treatment-emergent adverse events were headache, back pain, dyspepsia, and nasopharyngitis. Both 10- and 20-mg tadalafil improved erectile function for up to 36 hours postdosing in men with ED of varied severity.

     Key words: Phosphodiesterase inhibitors, efficacy, successful sexual intercourse, Sexual Encounter Profile (SEP) diary



Approximately 30 million American men are afflicted with erectile dysfunction (ED) (NIH Consensus Conference, 1993). Because of increasing life expectancies in the United States, the prevalence of ED is expected to increase by more than 30% over the next 25 years (Aytac et al, 1999). The prevalence and severity of ED have been shown to increase with age (Feldman et al, 1994; Laumann et al, 1999). In addition, men with ED often have comorbid conditions such as hypertension, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and other chronic diseases (Feldman et al, 1994). A common underlying factor in many of these conditions is endothelial dysfunction, or a damaged or malfunctioning endothelium (Cooke, 1997; Laight et al, 1999).

The introduction of sildenafil citrate marked the beginning of oral phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE5) inhibitors as a treatment for ED. PDE5 inhibitors have been shown to enhance erectile response in patients with ED by mediating the relaxation of the vascular smooth muscle of the penis (Ballard et al, 1998; Angulo et al, 2001). In response to sexual stimulation, nitric oxide (NO) is released from nonadrenergic, noncholinergic neurons in the penis and from the endothelial cells lining the penile vasculature (Saenz de Tejada et al, 1988; Ignarro et al, 1990; Rajfer et al, 1992; Traish et al, 2000). Released NO induces an increase in cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) levels in penile vascular smooth muscle cells, causing dilatation of the penile arteries and accumulation of blood in the cavernosal tissue, ultimately resulting in erection (Carvajal et al, 2000). PDE5 enzyme causes the breakdown of cGMP, enhancing detumescence.

Tadalafil (Cialis®; Lilly ICOS LLC, Bothell, Wash and Indianapolis, Ind) is a selective and potent inhibitor of PDE5 that has been approved by the Federal Drug Administration for the treatment of ED in the United States. In primary phase 3 studies, tadalafil at 10- and 20-mg doses was consistently superior to placebo and showed a statistically significant, robust improvement on all primary efficacy endpoints (Erectile Function [EF] domain score of the International Index of Erectile Function [IIEF], Sexual Encounter Profile [SEP] Question 2, and SEP3) (Brock et al, 2002; Lilly ICOS LLC, 2003; Carson et al, 2004). Furthermore, an integrated analysis of the primary efficacy and safety studies showed that 20-mg tadalafil improved erections in 81% of patients with ED, compared with 35% of placebo-treated patients (Brock et al, 2002).

Tadalafil has a unique pharmacokinetic profile with a mean terminal half-life of 17.5 hours (Patterson et al, 2001; Lilly ICOS LLC, 2003). This pharmacokinetic profile suggests that tadalafil may be effective for a long period of time. In a clinical study in an at-home setting, tadalafil at a dose of 20 mg was shown to significantly improve patients' ability to complete successful sexual intercourse up to 36 hours postdose, compared to placebo-treated patients (Porst et al, 2003). Additionally, a significantly higher percentage of patients on tadalafil 10 mg were able to achieve an erection 24 hours after dosing, compared to patients taking placebo, as assessed by RigiScan® (Dacomed Corporation, Minneapolis, Minn) evaluations (Padma-Nathan et al, 2001).

This phase 3 study was designed to further evaluate the effectiveness of 20-mg doses of tadalafil (Porst, 2003), and to assess for the first time the effectiveness of 10-mg tadalafil vs placebo, in improving the success of sexual attempts made at the preassigned times of 24 or 36 hours after dosing. Three main differences in the protocol design, compared to the study of Porst et al (2003), are as follows: 1) the addition of an equilibration phase with dosing as needed, to offer patients the advantage to learn how to properly use the medication before being restricted to a prespecified time window during the assessment phase; 2) the addition of 2 extra doses of study medication for each time point during the assessment phase (4 vs 2 doses); and 3) the use of a parallel design vs a cross-over design with regard to the assigned time points. The study was carried out in men with mild to severe ED.


   Materials and Methods
 Top
 Abstract
 Materials and Methods
 Results
 Discussion
 References
 
Study Design

This was a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group study conducted in the United States to determine the efficacy and safety of tadalafil 10 or 20 mg compared to placebo when sexual activity in patients with ED occurred at the prespecified time points of 24 or 36 hours after dosing. Doses of 10- and 20-mg tadalafil administered orally were selected based on current preclinical and clinical data as the doses most likely to be used in clinical practice. Written informed consent was obtained from all patients participating in this study before the performance of any protocol-specific procedure occurred.

The study consisted of a 4-week run-in phase without medication, to establish baseline severity of ED; a 2- to 4-week equilibration phase with dosing as needed before sexual activity, to develop familiarity with the use of the study medication; a 4- to 6-week assessment phase, to determine the efficacy at 24 and 36 hours following dosing; and a 6-month open-label active medication extension phase (Figure). Results from the open-label extension phase are not included in this report. During the run-in phase, patients who met the inclusion/exclusion criteria for enrollment were stratified into mild (17 to 30), moderate (11 to 16), and severe (≤10) ED groups according to their self-reported baseline EF domain scores on the IIEF questionnaire. Although EF domain scores of greater than or equal to 26 are indicative of normal erectile function, patients who initiated the study with scores within this range (26 through 30) were included in the study on an intent-to-treat basis and were randomized to the mild group (17 to 30) for classification purposes. Twenty-two patients (4.6% of enrolled men) had an EF domain score of greater than or equal to 26 at baseline and were randomized to placebo (N = 10), tadalafil 10 mg (N = 4), or tadalafil 20 mg (N = 8). Patients were randomly assigned within each severity group into 6 possible groups in a 1:1:1:1:1:1 ratio. That is, there was one group for each of the 6 combinations of assigned time (24 or 36 hours) and treatment (placebo, tadalafil 10 mg, or tadalafil 20 mg). Randomization was performed so that ED severity would be balanced across the 6 groups. The allocation to assigned-time groups was open label but was not revealed to patients and onsite personnel until the initiation of the assessment phase. During the equilibration phase, patients were given a supply of study medication to take as needed up to once daily at any time before expected sexual activity. The purpose of the equilibration phase was to provide an opportunity for the patients to learn how to use the study medication when sexual activity was not constrained to a specific time postdose. During the assessment phase, patients were asked to take 4 doses of study medication, each dose separated by at least 7 days, and each followed by a sexual attempt at the preassigned time after dosing (24 or 36 hours). Additionally, the first dose of study medication during the assessment phase and the last dose of study medication in the equilibration phase were to be separated by at least 7 days. After the initial attempt was made at the assigned time, the subject was free to make additional sexual attempts before the next dose of study medication.



View larger version (11K):
[in this window]
[in a new window]
 
Illustration of study design.

 

Patient Population

This multicenter phase 3 study enrolled 483 patients with ED across 38 clinical sites in the United States. Men who were at least 18 years of age and who reported a minimum of a 3-month history of ED were eligible to enroll in this study. These patients were to report on their sexual attempts with the same adult female partner.

Patients were excluded from the study if they met any of the exclusion criteria specified in the protocol. These criteria included clinically significant penile deformities or penile implants; a recent history of stroke or spinal cord trauma; unstable cardiovascular status (eg, unstable angina, myocardial infarction, or myocardial revascularization within the prior 90 days); use of nitrates, cancer chemotherapy, or antiandrogens; or failure to achieve any erection following radical prostatectomy or pelvic surgery. Additionally, patients who had previously received sildenafil citrate treatment that, in the opinion of the study investigator, had been ineffective were not eligible to enroll in the study. No other approved or experimental medications or treatments or devices to treat ED were allowed during the study. Men with ED due to untreated hypogonadism were excluded from the clinical trial. Twenty-two patients received concomitant testosterone treatment during the postbaseline period. Compliance with the study medication and dosing schedule was assessed at each patient visit throughout the duration of the study. Patients who were significantly noncompliant were discontinued from the study, including those patients who, in the opinion of the investigator, repeatedly failed to comply with the time constraints required between dosing and sexual attempts made during the assessment phase. Only intercourse attempts that fell within the specified time-point windows of 24 hours (22 to 26 hours) or 36 hours (33 to 39 hours) postdose were included in the analysis.

Efficacy Measures

Assessments of individual sexual attempts were obtained through responses to SEP diaries. Patients were asked to record the outcome of each sexual attempt both during the treatment-free run-in phase and following treatment during the equilibration and assessment phases. The primary efficacy variable used to assess the effectiveness of tadalafil for sexual attempts made 24 or 36 hours after dosing was the proportion of "yes" responses to SEP3 ("Did your erection last long enough for you to have successful intercourse?" [yes/no]). Only patients with at least one postbaseline evaluable attempt were included in the analysis. By definition, a postbaseline evaluable attempt met the following criteria: 1) represented the first attempt after a treatment dose, 2) occurred within the subject's assigned-time window postdose, and 3) had SEP diary data recorded for it. Only attempts during the assessment phase of the study were assessed as evaluable or nonevaluable.

Secondary efficacy variables included the percentage of "yes" responses to SEP questions 1 (ability to achieve at least some erection), 2 (ability to insert penis into partner's vagina), 4 (satisfaction with the hardness of erection), and 5 (overall satisfaction with the sexual experience).

Safety

Safety was assessed through evaluation of incidence of all reported adverse events (AEs) and any changes in vital signs (blood pressure and pulse). Treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) reported by patients were recorded throughout the study, at each clinic visit, and were defined as events that first occurred or worsened after baseline randomization. The safety outcome measure was the incidence of TEAEs by treatment group (placebo or tadalafil 10 or 20 mg) without regard to the assigned time. Additionally, physical examinations were performed at the screening and last study visits to the clinic before the start of the open-label extension phase. All concomitant medications taken during the study were recorded at every visit.

Statistical Analyses

The primary efficacy variable was the mean change from baseline to endpoint during the assessment phase, in the per-patient percentage of "yes" responses to SEP3. For each assigned time in sequence, inferences regarding change from baseline to assessment phase in SEP3 were based on an analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) model that included terms for the baseline value of the efficacy variable (SEP3 score), treatment group (placebo, tadalafil 10 mg, or tadalafil 20 mg), pooled site, and (if significant at P < .10) the baseline-by–treatment group interaction. The analysis of safety included all enrolled patients. Analyses of TEAEs used the Fisher exact test.

Primary and secondary analyses were done on a modified intent-to-treat (ITT) basis. The modified ITT analysis included all "ITT evaluable patients," that is, patients with at least one baseline observation and one evaluable postbaseline observation. An evaluable attempt was defined as a sexual attempt that 1) was the first attempt after a treatment dose, 2) occurred within the subject's assigned-time window postdose, and 3) had SEP diary data recorded for it. Only attempts during the assessment phase of the study were assessed as evaluable or nonevaluable. Only those attempts that fell within the assigned-time window were included in the analysis. For the 24-hour assigned time, a window of 22 to 26 hours was allowed. For the 36-hour assigned time, a window of 33 to 39 hours was allowed. For each SEP question, the baseline and postbaseline scores were the patient's percentage of "yes" responses relative to the number of sexual encounters during the run-in and treatment (assessment) periods, respectively.

Unless otherwise specified, hypothesis tests were 2-sided, with a significance level of .05. Primary efficacy comparisons of 10- and 20-mg doses with placebo were adjusted using the method of Dunnett. To protect against type I error when testing multiple primary hypotheses, within each dose, each assigned-time hypothesis was tested in a sequential fashion and appropriately adjusted for multiple-dose comparisons. The evaluation of efficacy at 24 hours for a particular dose preceded the evaluation of efficacy at 36 hours for the same dose. Type I error was split between the two doses using Dunnett multiple-comparison adjustments.

Additional Efficacy Analyses

The percentages of "yes" responses to SEP questions 1, 2, 4, and 5 were tabulated by group (eg, treatment and assigned time). The same ANCOVA model was fitted for these variables as for the primary efficacy variable. No adjustments were made for multiple comparisons.


   Results
 Top
 Abstract
 Materials and Methods
 Results
 Discussion
 References
 
Patient Demographics

Of the 483 men enrolled in the study, 435 (90%) completed the equilibration and assessment phases of this study (placebo, n = 144; tadalafil 10 mg, n = 145; tadalafil 20 mg, n = 146). The treatment groups were well balanced across most baseline characteristics (Table 1).


View this table:
[in this window]
[in a new window]
 
Table 1. Patient demographics and baseline characteirstics
 

Efficacy

Tadalafil at 20- and 10-mg doses was superior to placebo in the percentage of successful intercourse attempts at either 24 hours (P = .038 and <.001 for 10 and 20 mg, respectively) or 36 hours (P < .001 for both doses) after dosing, as measured by patient responses to SEP3 (Table 2). Table 2 summarizes the mean per-patient change in percentages of "yes" responses to SEP3 during the assessment phase (endpoint) from the run-in phase (baseline) for ITT evaluable patients for the 24- and 36-hour assigned times, respectively. The mean per-patient percentages of sexual intercourse attempts at 24 hours that were successful on 20- and 10-mg tadalafil were 67.3% and 55.8%, respectively, compared with 41.8% on placebo. The mean per-patient percentages of sexual intercourse attempts at 36 hours that were successful on 20- and 10-mg tadalafil were 61.9% and 56.2%, respectively, compared with 32.8% on placebo (Table 2). Similar results were obtained when patients who reported an IIEF score of greater than or equal to 26 at baseline were excluded from the analysis (data not shown).


View this table:
[in this window]
[in a new window]
 
Table 2. Mean per-patient percentage of successful sexual intercourse completion over time
 

On average, across all treatment groups, 84%, 77.4%, 71.2%, and 56% of patients had at least 1, 2, 3, or 4 evaluable attempts, respectively, at the 24-hour assigned time. Eighty-six percent (86.3%), 81.7%, 73.3%, and 55.8% of patients had at least 1, 2, 3, or 4 evaluable attempts, respectively, at the 36-hour assigned time. For the 24-hour assigned window, the mean time from dosing to evaluable attempt was 24.3 hours in both the placebo and 20-mg tadalafil groups, and this value was 24.4 hours in the 10-mg tadalafil group. For the 36-hour assigned window, the mean time from dosing to evaluable attempt was 36.2 hours in both the placebo and 10-mg tadalafil groups and was 36.3 hours in the 20-mg tadalafil group.

The effectiveness of tadalafil in improving the success of sexual attempts made 24 or 36 hours after dosing was demonstrated in patients with ED regardless of their baseline ED severity (Table 3). The mean per-patient percentages of successful sexual intercourse attempts at endpoint at 24 hours for the 20-mg tadalafil group for severe, moderate, or mild ED patients were 41.7%, 85.9%, and 77.4%, respectively; and for the 10-mg tadalafil group, these values were 34.5%, 54.2%, and 72.2%, compared to 19.6%, 42.9%, and 58.3% in patients with severe, moderate, or mild ED who were taking a placebo (Table 3). Similar results were observed in mean per-patient percentages of successful sexual attempts at 36 hours among patients with mild through severe ED at baseline. Patients on 20-mg tadalafil reported endpoint SEP3 scores of 43.2%, 57.8%, and 75.7% in the severe, moderate, or mild ED groups, respectively; patients on 10-mg tadalafil scored 33.3%, 60.9%, and 68.1%, compared to 17.4%, 20.5%, and 50.0% in patients taking the placebo (Table 3). Some of the tadalafil treatment groups did not meet statistical significance for change from baseline compared to placebo (based on ED severity) at 24 hours (P = .147, .149, and .135 for 10-mg mild, moderate, and severe ED groups, respectively) and 36 hours (P = .061 and .085 for 10-mg severe and 20-mg moderate ED groups, respectively), likely because of the small sample size included in these analyses (Table 3).


View this table:
[in this window]
[in a new window]
 
Table 3. Change from baseline in mean per-patient percentage of successful sexual intercourse attempts (SEP3) by baseline erectile dysfunction (ED) severity status
 

Tadalafil was statistically significantly superior to placebo on all secondary measures of efficacy, with the exception of SEP2 for the tadalafil 10-mg group at 24 hours postdose (P = .119 vs placebo; Table 4). Two patients in the placebo group (during the equilibration phase) and 1 patient in the tadalafil 20-mg group (during the assessment phase) discontinued the study because of lack of efficacy (patient perception).


View this table:
[in this window]
[in a new window]
 
Table 4. Summary of secondary efficacy variables (SEP1, SEP2, SEP4, and SEP5) at endpoint
 

Safety

Treatment with tadalafil was well tolerated, and TEAEs were generally mild or moderate in severity. The most common TEAEs (≥2% in any tadalafil treatment group) were headache, back pain, dyspepsia, nasopharyngitis, nasal congestion, upper respiratory tract infection, myalgia, and influenza (Table 5). The only TEAEs for which the difference in incidence between placebo and tadalafil (10 and 20 mg combined) was statistically significant were headache (P < .001), back pain (P = .024), and nasal congestion (P = .048; Table 5). The incidence of these 3 events was higher in the tadalafil groups than in the placebo group. No clinically significant changes in vital signs were observed.


View this table:
[in this window]
[in a new window]
 
Table 5. Incidence of adverse events*
 

Twenty-three patients (4.8% of enrolled patients) across all treatment groups were discontinued as a result of a protocol violation that consisted, in the majority of cases, of failure to have any evaluable sexual attempt during the treatment period. Of the 5 patients taking tadalafil (1% of enrolled men) who withdrew because of nonserious adverse events (all considered possibly related to the study medication by the investigator), 2 patients (1 each in the 10- and 20-mg tadalafil groups) experienced headache; 1 patient in the 20-mg tadalafil group experienced dyspepsia; and 1 each in the 10-mg tadalafil group experienced back pain or testicular swelling. One patient (0.2% of enrolled men) with a history of hypertension, diabetes, and smoking died after randomization to 20-mg tadalafil as a result of acute myocardial infarction, which the investigator considered unrelated to the study medication or protocol procedures. Two other serious adverse events (unrelated to the study medication) occurred in the placebo group. The discontinuation rates due to AEs were 0.6% and 1.8% in the placebo and tadalafil groups, respectively.


   Discussion
 Top
 Abstract
 Materials and Methods
 Results
 Discussion
 References
 
Tadalafil, a potent and selective inhibitor of PDE5, has been shown to be efficacious in improving EF among patients with a broad range of ED severity and of varied etiology (Brock et al, 2002; Lilly ICOS LLC, 2003; Carson et al, 2004). In this study, patients treated with tadalafil 20 or 10 mg showed a statistically significant improvement, compared to placebo-treated patients, in terms of all primary and secondary efficacy endpoints, with the exception of SEP2 for the tadalafil 10-mg group at 24 hours postdose (vs placebo; P = .119). Tadalafil treatment significantly improved erectile function relative to placebo based on the assessment of mean per-patient percentages of successful sexual intercourse attempts (SEP3) 24 or 36 hours after dosing. These results are in agreement with data from a previous study showing that tadalafil significantly improved patient's ability to complete sexual intercourse at 24 or 36 hours following a single 20-mg dose (Porst et al, 2003). Results from this study further confirmed the efficacy of 20-mg tadalafil at these time points after dosing and show for the first time that 10-mg tadalafil is also effective in allowing patients to successfully complete sexual intercourse at 24 or 36 hours after dosing. It is important to note that in the Porst et al study (2003) as well as in the trial discussed here, patients were instructed to take 1 dose of study medication and to attempt sexual intercourse at the preassigned time following a single dose. Interestingly, post-hoc analyses from other studies (Brock et al, 2002; Carson et al, 2004) also demonstrated that the duration of action of tadalafil extended up to 36 hours postdosing in patients with ED who were permitted to choose the time of sexual intercourse as needed following each dose. Brock et al (2002) showed that, when SEP3 scores from patients who participated in 5 phase 3 clinical trials were analyzed for selected time intervals, a high percentage of intercourse attempts (73% to 80%) between 30 minutes and 36 hours postdosing resulted in success for patients treated with 20-mg tadalafil. Similarly, data from an integrated analysis including greater than 2000 patients with ED from 11 placebo-controlled clinical trials (Carson et al, 2004) indicated that a higher percentage of intercourse attempts made by patients who took tadalafil 20 or 10 mg vs placebo were successful (SEP3) at all selected time intervals up to 36 hours postdose (greater than 1/2 h to less than or equal to 1 h; greater than 1 to less than or equal to 4 h; greater than 4 to less than or equal to 12 h; greater than 12 to less than or equal to 24 h; and greater than 24 to less than or equal to 36 h; P < .001). Taken together, results from this and prior studies indicate that patients' response to tadalafil extends up to 36 hours postdose regardless of trial specifications on time from dosing until initiation of sexual activity (eg, dosing as needed up to once daily before expected sexual activity vs dosing followed by sexual intercourse at prespecified times).

Patients participating in this study were able to initiate sexual activity at times of their choice after dosing throughout the equilibration phase. This study design provided patients the advantage to learn how to properly use the medication and the possibility to experience successful intercourse attempts across a broad time range before being restricted to a prespecified time window during the assessment phase. On the other hand, the short duration of the equilibration phase (2 to 4 weeks), may have been a limiting factor to some patients across all treatment groups compared to the standard trial design of a 12-week treatment period during which patients have enough time to experience their response to the medication without restrictions on timing to intercourse attempts.

Patients enrolled in this study were provided with a total of 4 doses of study medication during the assessment phase and were instructed to follow each dose with a sexual intercourse attempt at their preassigned time point. The inclusion of 4 doses during the treatment (assessment) phase represents an improvement in the study design when compared to the previous trial by Porst et al (2003), which evaluated patients' response to tadalafil at 24 or 36 hours postdose using 2 doses of study medication over a 4-week treatment period for each of the 24- and 36-hour assigned times. The two additional doses used in this study, each followed by an intercourse attempt, helped reduce the variability of results within each combination of treatment group and assigned time. Patients compliance with intercourse attempts at the 24- or 36-hour assigned times postdose during the assessment phase was high across all treatment groups. Overall, about 56% of patients across all treatment groups had 4 evaluable attempts during the assessment phase. This high compliance may be attributed to the protocol instructions on timing of sexual intercourse attempts at prespecified time points after dosing.

Regardless of baseline ED severity, the mean change in the SEP3 scores from baseline to assessment phase reported by patients taking tadalafil 20 or 10 mg were greater than those of placebo-treated patients at both 24- and 36-hour assigned times (Table 3). These results show that patients with all severities of ED can benefit with the duration of effectiveness of tadalafil.

The improvement in erectile function, measured as completion of successful intercourse attempts (SEP3) observed in patients treated with tadalafil, was further corroborated by patient's increased postdose satisfaction with hardness of erection (SEP4) and overall satisfaction with the sexual experience (SEP5). The improvement seen in these secondary efficacy outcome measures was demonstrated for tadalafil-treated patients compared with placebo at each of the preassigned time periods of 24 or 36 hours (Table 4).

Tadalafil at 20- and 10-mg doses was well tolerated, with a satisfactory safety profile, when administered under the conditions described in this study. Most TEAEs were mild or moderate in severity. No clinically significant changes occurred in patients' vital signs.

This randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study supports the conclusion that 10- and 20-mg tadalafil significantly improves erectile function relative to placebo, based on the assessment of mean per-patient percentage of sexual attempts resulting in successful intercourse completion (SEP3), when sexual activity occurs 24 or 36 hours postdose.


   Acknowledgments
 
The authors thank all the clinical investigators and study-site coordinators who collaborated in this study. We would also like to acknowledge Michael Marx, PharmD, and Dixon Wilde, PhD, for critically reviewing this manuscript.


   Footnotes
 
Supported by Lilly ICOS LLC (Bothell, Wash, and Indianapolis, Ind).


   References
 Top
 Abstract
 Materials and Methods
 Results
 Discussion
 References
 
Angulo J, Gaudau M, Fernandez A, et al. Tadalafil (IC351) enhances NO-mediated relaxation of human arterial and trabecular penile smooth muscle. Eur Urol. 2001; 39(suppl 5): 106 .

Aytac IA, McKinlay JB, Krane RJ. The likely worldwide increase in erectile dysfunction between 1995 and 2025 and some possible policy consequences. BJU Int. 1999; 84: 50 -56.[CrossRef][Medline]

Ballard SA, Gingell CJ, Tang K, Turner LA, Price ME, Naylor AM. Effects of sildenafil on the relaxation of human corpus cavernosum tissue in vitro and on the activities of cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase isozymes. J Urol. 1998;159: 2164 -2171.[CrossRef][Medline]

Brock GB, McMahon CG, Chen KK, Costigan T, Shen W, Watkins V, Anglin G, Whitaker S. Efficacy and safety of tadalafil in the treatment of erectile dysfunction: results of integrated analyses. J Urol. 2002;168: 1332 -1336.[CrossRef][Medline]

Carson CC, Rajfer J, Eardley I, Carrier S, Denne JS, Walker DJ, Shen W, Cordell WH. The efficacy and safety of tadalafil: an update. Br J Urol Int. 2004; 93: 1276 -1281.

Carvajal JA, Germain AM, Huidobro-Toro JP, Weiner CP. Molecular mechanism of cGMP-mediated smooth muscle relaxation. J Cell Physiol. 2000;184: 409 -420.[CrossRef][Medline]

Cooke JP. Therapeutic interventions in endothelial dysfunction. Endothelium as a target organ. Clin Cardiol. 1997; 20(suppl 2): II45 -II51.

Feldman HA, Goldstein I, Hatzichristou DG, Krane RJ, McKinlay JB. Impotence and its medical and psychosocial correlates: results of the Massachusetts Male Aging Study. J Urol. 1994; 151: 54 -61.[Medline]

Ignarro LJ, Bush PA, Buga GM, Wood KS, Fukuto JM, Rajfer J. Nitric oxide and cyclic GMP formation upon electrical field stimulation cause relaxation of corpus cavernosum smooth muscle. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 1990;170: 843 -850.[CrossRef][Medline]

Laight DW, Carrier MJ, Änggård EE. Endothelial cell dysfunction and the pathogenesis of diabetic macroangiopathy. Diabet Metabol Res Rev. 1999; 15: 274 -282.[CrossRef]

Laumann EO, Paik A, Rosen RC. Sexual dysfunction in the United States: prevalence and predictors. JAMA. 1999; 281: 537 -544.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

Lilly ICOS LLC. Tadalafil prescribing information (November, 2003).

National Institutes of Health (NIH) Consensus Development Panel on Impotence. Impotence. JAMA. 1993; 270: 83 -90.[CrossRef][Medline]

Padma-Nathan H, Rosen RC, Shabsigh R, Saikali K, Watkins V. Tadalafil (IC351) provides prompt and extended period of response for the treatment of men with ED. Int J Impot Res. 2001; 13(suppl 5): S64 .

Patterson B, Bedding A, Forgue T, Jewell H, Payne C, Mitchell M. The effect of intrinsic and extrinsic factors on the pharmacokinetic properties of tadalafil (IC351). Int J Impot Res. 2001; 13(suppl 5): S63 .

Porst H, Padma-Nathan H, Giuliano F, Anglin G, Varanese L, Rosen R. Efficacy of tadalafil for the treatment of ED at 24 and 36 hours after dosing: a randomized controlled trial. Urology. 2003; 62: 121 -125.[CrossRef][Medline]

Rajfer J, Aronson WJ, Bush PA, Dorey FJ, Ignarro LJ. Nitric oxide as a mediator of relaxation of the corpus cavernosum in response to nonadrenergic, noncholinergic neurotransmission. N Engl J Med. 1992;326: 90 -94.[Abstract]

Saenz de Tejada I, Blanco R, Goldstein I, Azadzoi K, De Las Morenas A, Krane RJ, Cohen RA. Cholinergic neurotransmission in human corpus cavernosum. I. Responses of isolated tissue. Am J Physiol. 1988;254: H459 -H467.

Traish A, Kim NN, Moreland RB, Goldstein I. Role of alpha-adrenergic receptors in erectile function. Int J Impot Res. 2000;12(suppl 1): S48 -S63.[CrossRef][Medline]




This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
Arch NeurolHome page
F. Giuliano, A. Sanchez-Ramos, D. Lochner-Ernst, G. Del Popolo, N. Cruz, A. Leriche, G. Lombardi, S. Reichert, P. Dahl, A. Elion-Mboussa, et al.
Efficacy and Safety of Tadalafil in Men With Erectile Dysfunction Following Spinal Cord Injury
Arch Neurol, November 1, 2007; 64(11): 1584 - 1592.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


This Article
Right arrow Abstract Freely available
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Young, J. M.
Right arrow Articles by Ahuja, S.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Young, J. M.
Right arrow Articles by Ahuja, S.


HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS