Scientists Guardedly Excited About Anti-Impotence Drug

A University of California researcher says he is successfully treating impotent men with a drug that can cause an erection of more than two hours within five minutes after injection.

Dr. Ralph deVere White, chairman of the department of urology at Davis, said injections of the muscle relaxant drug in experiments here and by researchers elsewhere are helping impotent men achieve and sustain an erection for sexual intercourse.

“Everyone is excited about this and everyone is just a little bit nervous,” DeVere White said.

The drug, papaverine, is being used on 20 patients, who must sign a release form and undergo extensive testing before being admitted to the 2-month-old treatment program, he said.

The drug is injected directly into the penis. In a normal male, it causes an erection of 2 to 2 1/2 hours duration within five minutes, DeVere White said. Some patients are taught to inject themselves after their dosage has been established.

However, “If anybody can be cured by hormones or sex therapy, they should not go on this drug,” DeVere White said.

The urologist said researchers are using the drug sparingly as a safeguard against undetermined--but possible--long-term side effects.

He said the drug has been used for years to chemically increase circulation in the brain, but its treatment of impotence, where vascular blood flow is important, is new.

Use of the drug may be preferable to other procedures for helping an estimated 10 million impotent American men, such as implanting prostheses and using microsurgery to repair damaged blood vessels.