For years, men who suffer from erectile dysfunction have been able to use Viagra or similar medications to provide some lift to their sex life. But there has never been a specific drug to help men who peak too soon.
Now, a major pharmaceutical company, Janssen-Ortho Inc., has filed an application with Health Canada to market in this country a new drug designed to treat premature ejaculation.
"This is a really common problem," said Gerald Brock, a professor at the University of Western Ontario who has been involved with company-sponsored trials of the drug.
The condition, which can cause great emotional distress for men and their partners, is believed to affect up to one-third of males, Dr. Brock said. Basically, they lack sexual control and reach orgasm in less than two minutes.
Scientists have long suspected that serotonin, a chemical messenger in the brain, plays a role in the disorder. In fact, patients are sometimes treated with a class of antidepressants known as SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors), which affect serotonin levels.
"The problem with SSRIs is that they are very slow to start working and they stay in your body for a long time," Dr. Brock explained. To have any effect on premature ejaculation, an SSRI must be taken every day.
The new drug, dapoxetine, known by the brand name Priligy, is designed to be taken about one to three hours before sexual intercourse.
"Quite honestly, it is not 100 per cent successful," Dr. Brock acknowledged. It doesn't work for all men and it can cause nausea and diarrhea.
Still, "it's a quantum leap better than anything we have right now," he said. "It typically doubles or triples how long a man can last."
Earlier this week, the firm's international parent company, Johnson & Johnson, announced its European subsidiary has obtained permission to sell Priligy in Sweden and Finland. It is hoping to gain similar approvals in a wide variety of countries.
However, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has already said no. The reasons why the influential FDA rejected the application in 2005 have not been made public.
Meanwhile, medical websites are speculating that some Americans may try to smuggle the prescription drug into the United States if it becomes available in Canada. That speculation, however, is certainly premature because regulatory approval, which can sometimes take years, is far from a sure thing.
Stronger teeth?
Can chewing gum actually make your teeth stronger? That's the claim being made by the company that produces Trident Xtra Care gum, a new product that has just landed on store shelves in Canada.
The gum is infused with Recaldent - "a unique form of calcium derived from milk" that "strengthens tooth enamel to prevent cavities," according to a company press release.
Recaldent - the full chemical name is casein phosphopeptide-amorphous calcium phosphate - was discovered by researchers at the University of Melbourne in Australia. They sold the worldwide confectionery rights to Cadbury, maker of gums and candy bars.
Previous studies have shown that chewing any type of sugar-free gum can guard against cavities. Chewing produces saliva that neutralizes acids that can break down dental enamel. What's more, saliva contains calcium and phosphate, which helps "remineralize" or rebuild teeth.
Trident Xtra Care gum goes one step further than regular sugarless gum with the addition of its own calcium and phosphate, which adheres directly to teeth for up to three hours, said Doris Tancredi, vice-president of regulatory affairs and emerging science at Cadbury's U.S. parent company.
"It has troops at the ready so when teeth are under attack... the calcium and phosphate are available to go directly into the tooth when demineralization begins," Dr. Tancredi said.
But does it work? Independent experts from the Canadian Dental Association reviewed the clinical evidence and concluded the data support the claims. The association has also given the company permission to print the CDA's "seal of recognition" on packages of Trident Xtra Care gum.
Cadbury will be paying the CDA for the right to use the seal. Euan Swan, CDA's manager of dental programs, wouldn't disclose how much money the association will receive. But he said the decision to grant the seal was based on the scientific data.
New donor registry
Canadian Blood Services announced yesterday that it has set up a new kidney-donor registry to increase the number of organs available for those in need of a transplant.
The registry is designed to match live kidney donors with suitable recipients who are suffering from end-stage renal disease. There have been numerous cases of Canadians who wanted to donate a kidney to an ill friend or relative but have been unable to do so because "their blood group or tissue type is incompatible with their intended recipient," the blood agency noted.
Together, the pair register to make and receive a donation. In this new paired exchange, the kidney donors - healthy people who donate one of their two kidneys - are matched with other compatible recipients, while their friend or relative receives a kidney from another healthy donor.
"The more pairs that register, the greater the chances of finding compatible kidney matches," Canadian Blood Services said in a statement.
About 3,000 Canadians are on waiting lists for a kidney transplant. People are normally born with two kidneys, but a healthy individual can get by with one - making live kidney donation possible.
