Dapagliflozin may improve erectile dysfunction among diabetes patients

The study included 30 Caucasian male patients with type 2 diabetes and severe erectile dysfunction. They were divided equally into three groups, Group 1; assigned to treatment with 5 mg/day tadalafil, Group 2; tadalafil 5 mg/day plus dapagliflozin 10 mg/day, and Group 3; dapagliflozin 10 mg/day for three months.

The presence and severity of ED were assessed at enrollment and after treatment by the dynamic penile echo colour Doppler ultrasound (PCDU) examination and the International Index of Erectile Function 5-item (IIEF-5) questionnaire.

The study led to the following findings:

• At the end of treatment, the three groups showed a significant improvement in IIEF-5 score, by 294%, 375% and 197%, in Groups 1, 2 and 3, respectively.
• PCDU evaluation showed a significant increase in peak systolic velocity by 178.9%, 339% and 153%; acceleration time was significantly shortened in Group 2 (−26.2%) and was significantly lower than in Group 1 and 3 (−7.2% and −6.6%), while no significant difference was found in end-diastolic velocity after treatment.
• The greatest rates of improvement were observed in Group 2 for all the endpoints.

"Our findings showed that dapagliflozin improves erectile dysfunction in patients with type 2 diabetes and enhances the efficacy of tadalafil," the researchers wrote. "There is a need for further studies to confirm our results and explain the mechanism(s) by which dapagliflozin exerts its effects on erectile dysfunction."

Reference:

Cannarella, R., Condorelli, R. A., Leanza, C., Garofalo, V., Aversa, A., Papa, G., Calogero, A. E., & Vignera, S. L. Dapagliflozin improves erectile dysfunction in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: An open-label, non-randomized pilot study. Diabetic Medicine, e15217. https://doi.org/10.1111/dme.15217