An over-the-counter gel that increases blood flow is being touted as a new alternative to Viagra and other erection pills.
Eroxon MED3000 gel is claimed to work within ten minutes by creating a cooling and warming sensation while simultaneously relaxing the smooth muscle tissue in the penis.
In clinical trials, as many as 60 percent of men who tried the drug were successful.
However, others say the studies were inconclusive and that men who experience erectile dysfunction should always see a doctor, as it could be a sign of heart disease.
Erectile dysfunction is a common condition and some men cannot take medications such as Viagra
The Eroxon gel claims to work within ten minutes of application
Many men cannot take erectile dysfunction medications like Viagra due to health reasons or because it doesn’t work for them.
It is believed that about half of patients stop taking pills within a year. Many men are also embarrassed to seek medical help.
Dr. Wayne Hellstrom of the Tulane School of Medicine in New Orleans, a former adviser to the makers of MED3000, said he expects the product to become “a potential first-line treatment” for men.
The product is already available in pharmacies in the UK and costs around £25 for a pack of four single-use tubes.
It was also approved by the US Food and Drug Administration in June 2023 and is expected to go on sale there next year.
According to the maker Futura, the gel contains a combination of solvents that, when applied to the glans, evaporate quickly and stimulate the nerve endings by first providing a cooling effect, followed by a warming sensation.
This reaction, they claim, causes nitric oxide to be released, which relaxes the smooth muscle tissue in the penis and increases the blood flow needed to achieve an erection.
A report in the Journal of Urology examined two studies involving 250 men with erectile dysfunction.
In one case, the men used MED3000 and in the other case they used the gel or 5 mg pills of tadalafil, an erectile dysfunction drug sold as Cialis.
An erection was achieved in less than 10 minutes in 60 percent of men in the MED3000 group, and in about 45 percent of men in the tadalafil group.
Overall, less than two percent of men taking MED3000 and four percent of those taking the pills reported side effects.
Examples of these include headaches, mainly in the tadalafil group, and a burning sensation in the penis in some who used the gel.
However, Dr. Kevin McVary, a professor of urology at the Stritch School of Medicine near Chicago, criticized the study, saying he did not believe MED3000 had been proven effective.
He said, ‘Do they expect Cialis to work in 10 minutes? Because it doesn’t.’
“It takes about two and a half hours for it to be absorbed into the bloodstream.”
He added that men with erectile dysfunction will likely do anything to avoid having to see a doctor about this condition, which could make MED3000 very attractive to the market.
But he warned that erectile dysfunction could be a sign of undetected heart problems, especially in younger men.
“It can serve as the classic canary in the coal mine, indicating who is at risk of dying unexpectedly early,” he said.
Futura previously developed another treatment for erectile dysfunction, called MED2005. This treatment contained nitroglycerin, a drug that works by widening small blood vessels.
The company conducted clinical trials in which half of the patients were given the real drug and the other half were given a dummy treatment, or placebo.
Nearly half of the men who used the real MED2005 got an erection within 10 minutes.
But this was only marginally better than the 38 percent who said the placebo treatment – which contained no nitroglycerin or other compound expected to have a pharmacological effect – worked.
MED2005 also caused side effects, including headaches and visual disturbances.
After this, Futura decided to market the placebo cream instead, named MED3000.
Critics argue that this is the first time a company has deliberately marketed a placebo and that the benefits are largely psychological in nature.
