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Impotence aids

Impotence is the inability to obtain and/or sustain an erection sufficient for penetration of the vagina and/or intercourse. Thus, impotence is also referred to as "erectile insufficiency" or "erectile dysfunction". The penis normally becomes erect when certain tissues, in particular the corpora cavernosa in the central portion of the penis, become engorged with blood, thereby causing them to become less flaccid, and in turn causing an erection. The process of erection is generally a selective vasodilation of the spongy penile tissue and corpus cavemosum and reductions in outflow, leading to blood pooling, elevation of intra-cavernous pressure, and therefore erection. Male sexual dysfunction, impotence, can result from a number of distinct problems. These include loss of desire or libido, the inability to maintain an erection, premature ejaculation, lack of emission, and inability to achieve an orgasm. Frequently, more than one of these problems present themselves simultaneously. The conditions maybe secondary to other disease states, the result of specific disorders of the urogenital system or endocrine system, secondary to treatment with pharmacological agents (e.g. antihypertensive drugs, antidepressant drugs, antipsychotic drugs, etc.) or the result of psychiatric problems. Impotence can result from psychologic disturbances (psychogenic), from physiologic abnormalities (organic) or from a combination of both. Thus, in some males erectile dysfunction may be due to anxiety or depression, with no apparent somatic or organic impairment. The major causes of organic impotence are vascular abnormalities, neurologic deficiencies and drug treatment side effects. The primary vascular causes of impotence are arterial insufficiency, which prevents the penis from filling with blood, and venous abnormalities that prevent the retention of blood in the penis during the erectile process. Arterial insufficiency is primarily due to atherosclerosis and has been found to be exacerbated by smoking. The medical condition of male impotence has been the subject of significant medical and scientific attention. Various therapies, both surgical and nonsurgical, have been previously made available for treating male impotence. Therapy for impotency has been treated for many years by herbs, drugs and mechanical devices. Numerous types of herbs and prescription drugs apply a systemic chemical stimulation to effect the flow and retention of blood in the penis to effect an erection. Vacuum Erection Devices draw blood into the penis, where it is retained by a constriction device to attain and retain an erection of the penis. Testosterone and its derivatives are obtained only by prescription. They are administered orally or via injection, buccal tablets or other pharmaceutical dosage forms. The main use is for hypogonadism, male climactric and impotence. Yohimbine is an indolalkylamine alkaloid. It is the principal alkaloid of the bark (yohimbehe) of the west African Corynanthe johimbe (Rubiaceae) tree. Other, informal names for yohimbine include quebrachine, methyl yohimbate and corynine. Yohimbine blocks presynaptic a.sub.2 adrenoreceptors causing release of norepinephrine. Its peripheral autonomic nervous system effect is to increase parasympathetic (cholinergic) activity and to decrease sympathetic (adrenergic) activity. Papaverine injection is only available by prescription; generally it is not the treatment of choice for impotence patients. Papaverine has been used as an injection administered into the penis directly. Penile implants, primarily made from silicone rubber, are surgically inserted in the shaft of the penis to make it sufficiently rigid for vaginal intercourse.

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