Sildenafil Citrate is an oral medicine used for relieving impotence (or erectile dysfunction, ED, the inability to attain or sustain a stiffer penile erection in men). The drug belongs to a class of family called phosphodiesterase inhibitors (PDE-5 inhibitors) that also includes Tadalafil, Vardenafil, and Avanafil.
It has been estimated that impotence in men affects approx. 140 million men worldwide. Over half of all the men with impotence are thought to have some physical (medical) cause. Remaining is believed to have some sort of psychogenic causes of impotence. Medical causes of impotence might also include diabetes and circulatory, neurological, or urological conditions.
A penile erection might usually occur by the engorgement of the penile with the flow of blood. This engorgement shall take place when the blood vessels delivering blood to the penile shall enhance the delivery of blood and the blood vessels carrying blood away from the penile decrease the removal of blood.
Under normal conditions, sexual stimulation shall eventually lead to the production and release of nitric oxide in the penile. Nitric oxide might later activate the enzyme, guanylate cyclase that can lead to the production of cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP). It is the cGMP that is primarily responsible for the penile erection by affecting the amount of blood that the blood vessels shall deliver and remove from the penile.
The impotence treating drug Sildenafil Citrate is known for inhibiting an enzyme known as phosphodiesterase-5 (PDE5) that shall eventually destroy the cGMP. Thus, the impotence treating medicine prevents the destruction of cGMP and further helps cGMP to accumulate and persist for a longer time. The longer cGMP persists, the more prolonged the engorgement of the penile shall occur. The FDA approved Sildenafil Citrate in March 1998.
Active component Sildenafil Citrate in various branded medicine is prescribed for the treatment of impotence caused by medical or psychological conditions. Side effects, drug interactions, warnings and precautions, and patient safety information might be widely reviewed prior to consumption of any medicatio
