In Rome, tests on a substance capable of resolving a form of impotence that affects three million Italians in 85% of cases. The trial, conducted so far on a small sample and for a limited period, has ruled out side effects. The results of the study will be presented at the congress of the Italian Society of Andrology
by ADELE SARNO
ROME – It doesn’t cure the effect, but the cause. It is called citrulline and it is a supplement which, according to the results of an Italian trial, promises to combat erectile dysfunction, a sexual disorder which afflicts around 3 million men in Italy. The substance and the study that supports its positive effects will be presented tomorrow at the twenty-sixth national congress of the Italian Society of Andrology (SIA). According to the study, citrulline was shown to work in 85% of cases. Not being a drug, it is not among the products already on the market that must be taken in view of the need, but it exerts its effects after a month of regular intake.
The experiment was conducted by Ermanno Greco, director of the Center for Reproductive Medicine and Biology at the European Hospital in Rome: “To arrive at these results – explains Greco – we started from the origin of the disease. Erectile dysfunction, and in particular that which depends on vascular problems which occurs in 60-70% of cases, is essentially determined by a lack of nitric oxide at the level of the intracavernous smooth muscle cell; that is, the cell on which erection depends.” The administration of citrulline, according to the test, restores to patients the biological balance that guarantees the body the concentration of nitric oxide necessary to achieve and maintain an erection.
The trial was conducted on 75 men with an average age of 48 years. The sample was divided into three groups of 25 people. “We administered a placebo to the first group – explains Greco –, to the second arginine, an amino acid which together with oxygen forms nitric oxide, and to the third citrulline”. The test showed that arginine alone is not enough to solve the problem because the body metabolizes it immediately, and the 1% that remains in circulation is unable to produce the effect. Citrulline, on the other hand, continues the researcher, has shown that it has the ability to transform into arginine. But, unlike the original substance, it is not metabolised and remains in circulation.
To arrive at the final results, the biochemical parameters of the sample examined were verified. “By checking the blood values – says Greco – we saw that citrulline is actually converted into arginine and that, in a dose of 6 grams per day, it has the effect of increasing its levels. Furthermore, this supplement increases the ‘activity’ of the cells that guarantee erection and has no side effects. For this reason it can also be used by patients at risk, with vascular, cardiac and ischemic pathologies and can also be taken with other anti-impotence molecules”.
The substance has been patented and the study, after its presentation at the SIA Congress, will be brought to the attention of the international scientific community. “In our trial sample – says Ermanno Greco – we had a positive response in 85% of the patients involved. We hope, in this way, to open a new path for research.”
According to Greco, only 2 of the 3-4 million Italians who suffer from erectile dysfunction turn to a specialist; the others live with the problem and keep it hidden in the bedroom. “70% are over 40 years old – states the scholar –; generally these are patients with cardiovascular problems, some overweight and mostly smokers. Three in ten regularly take anti-impotence drugs.”
