Reuters reports that erectile-dysfunction drugs may increase oxytocin levels in men, promoting more affection and bonding.
Excerpt:
"This is one piece in a puzzle in which many pieces are still not available," [Wisconsin physiology professor Meyer] Jackson said in a statement. "But it raises the possibility that erectile dysfunction drugs could be doing more than just affecting erectile dysfunction."
Viagra, made by Pfizer Inc., is an inhibitor of an enzyme called phosphodiesterase type 5. Related drugs such as Eli Lilly and Co.'s Cialis, known generically as tadalafil, and Levitra or vardenafil, sold by GlaxoSmithKline, Bayer AG and Schering-Plough, are also PDE-5 inhibitors.
They block this enzyme, which in turn breaks down other compounds. This increases blood flow in the muscles but it also affects a brain structure known as the posterior pituitary.
This, in turn, boosts oxytocin, at least in the rats. It probably does the same thing in people, Jackson said.
"It does the same thing it does in smooth muscle -- instead of (levels) coming down in a minute or two, they stay up a little longer," Jackson said in a telephone interview.
Sauce for the goose, sauce for the gander, indeed.
Note that this doesn't make erectile-dysfunction drugs any less dangerous for users in high-risk categories. But this may open up their usage (in different formulations and doses) to more people than just those suffering from erectile-dysfunction. Could it be that, like birth control pills that are primarily prescribed to correct hormone imbalances in women, these medications will be one-day used to fine-tune hormone levels in men?
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