Do the New Erectile-Dysfunction Drugs Work as Well as Viagra?
Start
Two drugs, Levitra and Cialis. They work the same way as Viagra, blocking the same enzyme. Though it’s unlikely any one works better than Viagra overall, slight chemical differences mean that if one brand doesn’t work for a patient, another one might.
A 67-year-old Boston man with diabetes says Viagra only worked for him about 25% of the time, and only when taking the maximum dose of 100 mg. Even then, he says, it resulted in only a “mediocre” erection, while making him feel lightheaded and giving him headaches and an upset stomach. He recently took part in a Levitra study and was shocked by the difference. “I was very, very happy,” says the man, a retired cook.
Early studies show Levitra requires a smaller dose and works faster than Viagra with fewer side effects. In Europe, where Cialis has been studied longer, the drug is dubbed the “weekend pill,” because its effects last up to 36 hours.
On its Web site, Pfizer says Viagra remains effective for about four hours. But doctors say it actually lasts about twice as long. A recent study from Spain reported the drug continued working up to 12 hours after taking it.
However, it’s impossible to know how the drugs really stack up. Nobody has studied them against one another, and because the studies use different participants, the results can’t be compared.