Vardenafil: efficacy, tolerability and future directions.

Author(s): Rice KR, Dean RC

Affiliation(s): Urology Service, Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Urology Clinic-4F, 6900 Georgia Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20307, USA. KEVIN.RICE6@US.ARMY.MIL

Publication date & source: 2009-05, Expert Opin Drug Metab Toxicol., 5(5):553-62.

Publication type: Review

Vardenafil is a short-acting PDE5 inhibitor used in the treatment of male erectile dysfunction. It is the most potent and specific of the three commercially available PDE5 inhbitors, which may decrease incidence of side effects, although this has not been demonstrated clinically. Although its efficacy in the treatment of erectile dysfunction has been demonstrated in several studies, recent and continuing studies have shown vardenafil's promise as an effective agent in penile rehabilitation, decreasing lower urinary tract symptoms resulting from benign prostatic hyperplasia and management of pulmonary hypertension.