VASOACTIVE COCKTAILS FOR ERECTILE DYSFUNCTION - CHEMICAL-STABILITY OFPGE1, PAPAVERINE AND PHENTOLAMINE

Purpose: Vasoactive cocktails are widely used in diagnosing and treati ng erectile dysfunction, especially in poor responders to prostaglandi n E1 (PGE1). However, very little information as to their chemical int eractions and stability is available, despite the huge amount of publi shed work regarding their clinical efficacy. Obviously, medical and le gal problems are involved. Materials and Methods: We analyzed four kin ds of vasoactive cocktails, composed of papaverine, phentolamine and P GE1 in different combinations, using High Performance Liquid Chromatog raphy analysis after 5 to 60 days of storage at temperatures between 2 and 8C. SPSS MANOVA analysis and a t-test for paired samples were use d for statistical purposes. Results: Papaverine and phentolamine conce ntrations showed no significant variations during the 2 month study, r anging from a minimum of 96.75 +/- 1.20 to a maximum of 103.00 +/- 0.2 0% of the starting values. In the same period, PGE1 showed an accelera ted degradation profile, reaching concentration values, after 60 days, of 76.00 +/- 2.28% and 70.20 +/- 2.02% when added to phentolamine or papaverine respectively and 70.00 +/- 2.40% with both. Conclusions: Pa paverine and phentolamine are characterized by chemical stability when blended together or with PGE1. Papaverine and/or phentolamine increas e the naturally occurring degradation of PGE1 in physiological solutio n. This effect is most evident in the first 10 days. Papaverine has th e greatest deteriorating effect on PGE1. A safe and proper use of thes e cocktails should take into account the variations of PGE1 concentrat ion.