Sex has been the part of the life since the day Adam saw the apple. Man has been striving to achieve a better performance in order to satisfy both his as well his partner's requirements. Age, hormonal imbalances, society, money and many other things have not been able to remain a barrier for long in this quest. Medicinal herbs, fruits and certain exercises such as meditation have helped him in one way or the other but there has always been a search to help men in his erectile dysfunction in nearly all cases with having minimum of the side effects. Viagra hit the market in 1998 and was an instant success in that regard. But due to its side effects more research was still needed and a new product was about to come. Cialis then came and with its minimum side effects profile and the greater half-life was what people needed the most. What is erectile dysfunction?
Erectile dysfunction is the inability of the person to either initiate or sustain a penile erection for a sufficient period of time that is needed to attain a sexual gratification. The causes of it may be many for e.g. psychological, hormonal, arterial or muscular. The diseases associated with it are Diabetes Mellitus, Major Depression, certain thrombotic disorders, etc.

What is cialis?
Cialis and drugs related to it like Viagra act by inhibiting an enzyme called phosphodiesterase type 5 which release Nitric Oxide from nerve endings and endothelium causing relaxation of smooth muscle and hence penile erection. This is a product developed by Eli Lilly and ICOS and it is a trade name of the product called Tadalafil launched in the market in 2003.

What are the advantages and side effects?
Although the vasodilatation that is needed is in penis, due to the extreme non-specificity of the product there are certain side effects related to vasodilatation at other sites such as headache, nasal congestion, stuffiness, and fall in blood pressure. Some patients complain of loose motions. These side effects are more applicable to products such as Viagra than to Cialis. Some patients have suffered heart attack and severe fall in blood pressure.

Who all can benefit?
Men with erectile dysfunction due to some arterial disorders will benefit the most. It doesn't benefit those with hormonal problems or psychological problems except those with Diabetic neuropathy. There is a myth that a person as soon as taking the drug will have erection but that is not the case. It starts taking action only when a person starts physical activity.

How is cialis better than others?
Cialis has a half life of around 36 hours while that of Viagra is around 4 hours that means that a person can take the drug and can expect to have erection at a time much later than the time of administration. This achieves much patient compliance.

What is the latest research that is going on?
The latest research that is going on is hormonal therapy and genetic therapy in this regard. These are basically to avoid the side effect profile of these type of drugs.

Copyright @2005, Mansi Gupta

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