How Does Viagra Work?

Erectile dysfunction is a serious medical condition that can affect anyone. Described as the inability to maintain or develop an erect penis, it can be caused by several medical conditions that are now common and sometimes even unavoidable — from physical reasons to psychological reasons. Among the causes of penile dysfunction (also known as male impotence) are diabetes, cardiovascular leakage, and obesity. While psychological reasons for erectile dysfunction can easily be cured, physical causes are hard to counter. This may seem like a mundane personal issue. However, this is not the case today. Erectile dysfunction is commonly associated with several cultural and popular notions connected to masculinity and success, important concepts in many cultures around the world. Time and time again, many remedies have cropped up to solve the problem of erectile dysfunction — some even dating back up to 70 years ago — but, obviously, these remedies were not as effective as people hoped. There are severe medical treatments to cure erectile dysfunction but, knowing the cost of medical services, these treatments do not come cheap. These treatments range from oral to surgical. There are also known devices and applications that are said to help people with this condition — such as penis pump and the Alprostadil — but its effects are disputed.

One of the best known medicines to remedy erectile dysfunction is the Sidenafil, also known as the Viagra. Developed by Pfizer, it is the first drug to be phramatologically-approved as a remedy for erectile dysfunction. When first released during the mid-90s, it received immense attention, perhaps due to its nature. It was considered to be a breakthrough in its time, preceding its primary competition by at least two years.

But how does he Viagra work? Viagra deals with the body’s parasympathetic nervous system. Level increase in the penis’ cyclic guanosine monophosphate leads to the smoothing of the helicine arteries of the penis, which results to blood inflow increase and, consequently, an erection. What Viagra does is holds back a type of guanosine monophosphate called the specific phosphodiesterase type 5, which is the cause of the penis’ lack of guanosine monophosphate. Viagra — its molecular structure — is similar to the guanosine monophosphate so it acts as the phosphodiesterase type 5?s binding agent. This results to more guanosine monophosphate and, eventually, a better erection. Unlike other applications — most commonly the Alprostadil — Viagra will not work without sexual stimulation, although its effects could be delayed if the user has taken a high-fat meal before taking the drug.

Undoubtedly, Viagra is the leader in the market for prescribed erectile dysfunction medication. While it now holds about 50 percent of the market (compared to its almost 100 percent market in year 2000), it is still the dominant leader against competitors like Levitra and Cialis, even with the entry of illegal erectile dysfunction clones and counterfeits. Aside from remedying erectile dysfunction, it is said that it has other uses. Medical studies have proven that it is effective against pulmonary hypertension (since it relaxes the arterial wall), Raynaud’s phenomenon (a medical condition that causes discolorations in the body), altitude sickness, and becker muscular dystrophy.