Current perspectives on intracavernosal pharmacotherapy for erectile dysfunction

Abstract

Thirty percent of males afflicted with erectile dysfunction (ED) do not respond to oral drugs, another 15% reveal contraindications to currently available therapy, and a subset of patients actually prefer injection therapy due to its predictable short time-to-onset of erection and reliable rigidity compared to oral drugs. This paper provides both a historical and current perspective on intracavernosal therapy and reviews the popular injectable therapeutic agents that are currently used for the treatment of ED. Emphasis is placed on the efficacy, mechanism of action and side effect profiles of approved and experimental injectable pharmacotherapy for ED.