Two Commonly Used Drugs for Erectile Dysfunction Could Treat Osteoporosis

PDE5A inhibitors, the drugs used in erectile dysfunction, could help in the formation of new bone and reduced removal of old bone. They could be used in treating osteoporosis in men of advancing ages, as well as for treating osteoporosis in postmenopausal women. The study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

, is led by Se-Min Kim, MD, Associate Director, Translational Research, Mount Sinai Bone Program, Assistant Professor of Medicine (Endocrinology, Diabetes and Bone Disease) at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

Osteoporosis is a global public health problem that affects almost 200 million people worldwide. Erectile dysfunction is the most common male sexual dysfunction in the aging population, with more than 70% of men over the age of 70 suffering from this.//

Two seemingly unrelated multifactorial diseases share a very important molecular pathway. Co-Senior investigators include Mone Zaidi, MD, PhD, MACP, Director of the Mount Sinai Bone Program and Professor of Medicine (Endocrinology, Diabetes and Bone Disease) at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai; Tony Yuen, PhD, Associate Director of Research for the Mount Sinai Bone Program and Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

The objective was to examine the comprehensive skeletal effect of blocking phosphodiesterase (PDE) 5A, an enzyme that affects cell signaling in blood vessel walls. Inhibiting PDE5 can relax muscles and increase blood flow to specific areas of the body. The team focused specifically on two PDE5 inhibitors; tadalafil and vardenafil.

The target enzyme, PDE5A, was found to be expressed in mouse skeletal tissue and human bone cells. It was also shown in precursors of osteoblasts, cells responsible for bone formation. Both drugs that block PDE5A enhanced osteoblastic bone formation and significantly increased bone mineral density in mice. Overall, the direct effect on the bone from tadalafil and vardenafil resulted in a net bone gain.

These findings support testing of the two commonly-used erectile dysfunction drugs in the hopes of a potential treatment involving patients with osteoporosis.



Source-Newswise