Nov 20 (Reuters) - Using a testosterone gel in addition to
Viagra doesn't make the little blue pill work any better,
according to a U.S. study.
Studies have suggested that about one-quarter to one-third
of men with erectile dysfunction, or ED, also have low
testosterone, and the authors of the study - which appeared in
the Annals of Internal Medicine - say that a starting course of
sildenafil citrate, marketed as Viagra, helped improve sexual
function for men with both conditions.
But adding testosterone, typically prescribed to men who
have both low testosterone levels and symptoms such as little
interest in sex or low muscle and bone mass, on top of Viagra,
doesn't provide any added sexual benefits, said lead author
Matthew Spitzer, from the Boston University School of Medicine.
"Sildenafil plus testosterone was not superior to sildenafil
plus placebo in improving erectile function in men with erectile
dysfunction and low testosterone levels," Spitzer and his
colleagues wrote.
The study included 140 men, aged 40 to 70. All were
prescribed Viagra at 50 or 100 milligrams, which they took as
needed before sex. After three to seven weeks, half of the men
were randomly assigned to also use a daily testosterone gel, and
the other half used a drug-free placebo gel.
During the Viagra-only portion of the study, men's erectile
function scores improved.
On the sexual functioning scale, a score of 11-16 is
considered "moderate" erectile dysfunction and 17-21 is "mild to
moderate" dysfunction. The highest possible score, signaling no
erectile problems, is a 30.
On average, men's scores increased from 12.1 to 19.8 with
Viagra. Their testosterone levels also rose.
For men who were then given the testosterone gel,
testosterone levels increased significantly again. But neither
those men nor the ones who used the placebo gel had any further
change in their erectile function over the next three months.
There was also no difference between the two groups on
measures of sexual desire, orgasm and frequency of intercourse.
Spitzer told Reuters Health his team didn't look at the
effects of testosterone without Viagra, and it's possible the
gel would boost sexual functioning compared to no treatment.
In addition, testosterone may have other beneficial health
effects, such as on strength and body composition.
Other experts said the study didn't mean that testosterone
wouldn't help some patients.
"It doesn't mean that if the individual has either symptoms
of androgen deficiency or hypogonadism (low hormone production
from the testes) that those wouldn't get better with
testosterone," said Alvin Matsumoto, a geriatrician from the
University of Washington School of Medicine and the Seattle VA
Puget Sound Health Care System, who wasn't part of the study.
"What you don't know is if you don't respond significantly
to sildenafil and you have low testosterone, whether
testosterone wouldn't help in addition."
SOURCE: http://big.ly/MnBcCA
(Reporting from New York by Genevra Pittman at Reuters Health;
editing by Elaine Lies)