Date: February 22, 2006

The result of a study published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine suggested that taking Lipitor (atorvastatin) may assist in Viagra (sildenafil) treatment to work effectively among ED patients, who don't respond to Viagra earlier. It mentioned that erectile dysfunction may be a sign of generalized vascular disorder due to endothelial dysfunction.

Howard C. Herrmann, M.D. of the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and his colleagues conducted the pilot research among 12 Viagra non-responders (average age of 58) with LDL cholesterol level above 100 mg/dl. Eight of the men were given Lipitor while the remaining four were given a placebo.

At the end of six weeks, the mean erectile dysfunction score of the treatment group with Lipitor showed remarkable improvement from 10 points to 18 points on a 30-point scale. However, there were no signs of improvement in the placebo patients. All the eight men with Lipitor displayed a high confidence and were able to get an erection.

The mean LDL cholesterol level of the Lipitor treatment group decreased from a baseline average of 135 mg/dl to 78 mg/dl in twelve weeks, while the placebo treatment group showed no significant improvement.

Researchers said that there was no relationship between the lowering of LDL cholesterol level and the improvement of erectile dysfunction. The investigation was based on their theory that the use of statins could make the endothelium healthy, which would lead to an increased availability of nitric oxide that could improve the endothelial dysfunction, making Viagra to work better on the patient.

The study reinforces the hypothesis that an alteration in the atherosclerotic risk factor can help in improving erectile dysfunction in patients with or without hyperlipidemia.

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