Tadalafil

What is Tadalafil?

Tadalafil alongside sildenafil, avanafil, and vardenafil, is one of the most commonly used active ingredients in the treatment of erectile dysfunction.

The active ingredient ensures that the erectile tissue of the penis is better supplied with blood by expanding the vessels. This promotes the development and duration of erections. Tadalafil does not induce erections, it merely encourages them.

Effect of Tadalafil

A male erection can be triggered by both mechanical and psychological sexual stimuluses. Sexual dysfunction sends out nerve signals in the body that locally release nitric oxide. This in turn acts on the blood vessel walls in the erectile tissue of the penis. There, messenger substances are produced in the cells, which ensure that the vessels dilate and a lot of blood can flow into the erectile tissue: the penis becomes stiff. Specifically, it is the messenger substance cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP).

This messenger substance is broken down in the cells after a certain time, causing the penis to relax again. The phosphodiesterase-5 (PDE-5) molecule causes the degradation process. PDE-5 is one of eleven different types of PDE in the body. In humans, this molecule is specifically present in the cavernous bodies of the penis, lungs, and platelets.

Tadalafil is a PDE-5 inhibitor. The substance reduces the breakdown of cGMP specifically on the vessel walls in the penis. This ensures better local blood circulation and promotes the development of erections. The signal is preserved and the penis does not become limp.

It should be noted that tadalafil only promotes the development of erections or prolongs existing erections. The drug cannot induce an erection, which requires an additional sexual stimulus.

Intake and duration of action of Tadalafil

Tadalafil is taken in tablet form and reaches its maximum concentration in the blood after about half an hour. At this point in time, the drug also develops its greatest possible effect. The liver then slowly processes the non-endogenous substance and breaks it down again into ineffective metabolites.

Tadalafil has the longest duration of action compared to the other PDE-5 inhibitors: up to 36 hours.

Tadalafil works in situations of mental excitement. During the 36-hour duration of action, any number of erections and ejaculations can occur. The effect lasts longer than other sexual enhancers. The drug is therefore also known as the “weekend pill”.

Risks and Side Effects

Before taking any of these drugs, you should always have a medical cheque-up, especially for your heart. Tadalafil is contraindicated in patients with known heart disease due to possible side effects, including heart attacks. You should also not take the drug if you are taking heart medication, such as B. nitrates are taken. In the worst case, it can lead to life-threatening drops in blood pressure. In the case of renal insufficiency, a dose of 10 mg should not be exceeded. To date, there is no information on dose adjustments in hepatic impairment.

Other known side effects:

• Headache
• Stuffy nose
• Skin redness
• Indigestion
• Back, muscle, or joint pain
• Vision problems
• Dizziness
• Tinnitus
• Shortness of breath
• Nosebleeds
• Blood in the urine
• Racing heart
• Chest pain

Since the active ingredient is broken down by the liver, interactions can occur when taking other medications that are also broken down by the liver. This can lead to an active substance being broken down to an increased or reduced extent and accumulating or not being able to develop its full effect. This is the case, for example, with some antibiotics or painkillers.

PDE-5 inhibitors in Tadalafil

There are several drugs on the market that contain PDE5 inhibitors.

They differ only in their pharmacokinetic properties. This means that they act at different speeds. They stay in the blood for different lengths of time, which is why you need different dosages of the respective preparations for one hour of the same effect.