A New Treatment for Premature Ejaculation?
Dapoxetine (Priligy) recently approved to treat PE in Scandinavia
Aug 16, 2009
According to a recent review article by Palmer and Stuckey from Australia's Keogh Institute of Medical Research, premature ejaculation is reported to be the most common sexual complaint in males.
Many are the medications that those who perceived themselves to be suffering from this condition have used to try and improve matters.
Treatments for Premature Ejaculation
One technique used to delay ejaculation was to apply local anaesthetic gel or cream (such as lignocain, lidocain or xylocaine) on the penis, to decrease sensation and so prolong the time taken for ejaculation. Others have tried taking one of the antidepressant tablets from the SSRI group (for example sertraline, paroxetine and cipramil etc) a short while before attempting intercourse - because experience had shown that many men who were taking one of these medications, originally prescribed to treat depression, were actually experiencing a longer time before they came to ejaculate when they had sexual intercourse.
Behavioural Therapy for Premature Ejaculation
In many cases, men who believed that they "came too quickly" were benefited by behavioural therapy and psychosexual counselling, the objective of these sessions being to help the man regain a sense of control over his ejaculations - and help him and his partner to feel satisfaction after intercourse.
In 2006, the medical journal The Lancet published the report of clinical trials of the drug Dapoxetine that was conducted simultaneously in 121 centres in the US. This research showed that the drug Dapoxetine could be an effective drug to treat premature ejaculation. The trial was conducted using three groups of men, each group numbering about 600 men who were in stable heterosexual relationships and had moderate-to-severe premature ejaculation.
One group of men was given 30 mg of Dapoxetine, the second group was given 60 mg Dapoxetine while the third group was given a placebo - a tablet that looked and tasted just like dapoxetine, but did not contain any medication. The men were instructed to take one of the tablets they had been given between one to three hours before anticipated sexual activity.
Until the twelve week study period was over, none of the men - nor the researchers who were documenting the men's responses to the tablets - knew which of the three possible tablets they were taking.
Side Effects of Treatment for Premature Ejaculation
Although, as might be expected with any new drug, a few of the men experienced some adverse side effects such as nausea, diarrhoea, headache and dizziness with the drugs, the research study concluded that on-demand dapoxetine was an effective and generally well tolerated treatment for men with moderate-to-severe premature ejaculation.
"Dapoxetine' says Dr Pryor, the chief investigator who conducted the trial, "improved patient's perceptions of control over ejaculation, satisfaction with sexual intercourse, and overall impression of change in their condition. Partners benefited through improved satisfaction with sexual intercourse."
The drug is still not licensed for sale in all countries. However, in February 2009, Dapoxetine received marketing authorisation in Finland and Sweden for the “on-demand treatment of premature ejaculation (PE) in men 18–64 years of age."
A word of caution: It has been suggested (and not without some justification) that the makers of the new medication may be trying to "pathologise" a condition that does not need treating with medication.
Physicians should be careful that pharmaceutical companies do not try to create a demand for the new drug by publicising the perception in the community that men who may only suffer from a rapid ejaculation (which is merely a variation of normal sexual performance) have something wrong with them - and need tablets to "fix" their problem..
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