When Viagra fails, a stent propping open arteries near the penis may be the answer for men with erectile dysfunction.
That's the gist of a 50-patient study called ZEN launched last week by Medtronic Inc.
About half of the 25 million American men diagnosed with erectile dysfunction don't respond to drugs such as Viagra, Cialis and Levitra. Other treatments, such as vacuum pumps, self-injected medications and implants, have disadvantages, said Dr. Jason Rogers, a cardiologist at the University of California at Davis Medical Center in Sacramento. "Invasiveness and the lack of spontaneity for intercourse are two of the major drawbacks."
Rogers says there's room for an alternative, and Fridley-based Medtronic has what may be a solution: A tiny mesh stent coated with drugs inserted into arteries supplying blood to the penis. Normally, these stents are used to prop open clogged arteries leading to the heart.
"The link between erectile dysfunction and coronary artery disease has been well established," Rogers said.
Study results are expected in 2011.
Janet Moore • 612-673-7752 Bloomberg News contributed to this report.
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