Effect of Testosterone in Men With Erectile Dysfunction

NCT ID: NCT00512707

Last Updated: 2017-06-29

Study Results

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Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

COMPLETED

Clinical Phase

PHASE4

Total Enrollment

140 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2006-11-30

Study Completion Date

2010-05-31

Brief Summary

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The purpose of this placebo-controlled study is to determine if testosterone replacement therapy, administered by transdermal gel, can improve the response to sildenafil (Viagra R) treatment in men who have erectile dysfunction (ED) and low testosterone levels.

Detailed Description

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This is a double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group, randomized clinical trial in men, 40-70 years of age, who present with mild to moderate erectile dysfunction and have androgen deficiency defined as serum total testosterone level below 300 ng/dL, measured by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry, LC-MS/MS (15) and/or free testosterone level (measured by equilibrium dialysis) below 50 pg/ml. Sexual function assessments will include validated erectile function questionnaires (IIEF), sexual activity diaries, sexual desire, partner interaction and intimacy, affects balance scale, mood, ED-related quality of life, and penile rigidity in response to a visual erotic stimulus. The initial assessment will be made prior to treatment with sildenafil citrate, i.e., in subjects who are naïve to or withdrawn from PDE5 inhibitors and/or testosterone. Participants will then be allotted three sildenafil citrate tablets per week (12 pills per month), but will not use more than one tablet within any 24-hour period. During the Sildenafil-Dose Optimization period, subjects naïve to sildenafil citrate will start with a 50 mg dose. Those who have used sildenafil citrate in the past will take the same dose that was found to be efficacious for them. After three weeks, the dose of sildenafil citrate will be increased to 100-mg in non-responders. For those who cannot tolerate the 50-mg dose, a dose of 25 mg will be given. After three weeks on the optimized dose of sildenafil citrate, subjects will undergo a second evaluation of sexual function. They will then be randomly assigned to receive this optimized dose of sildenafil citrate with either placebo gel (15 g per day) or active testosterone gel (10 g active gel + 5 g placebo gel per day). The daily dose of active testosterone gel was selected to increase average serum into the upper-half of the normal range for healthy, young men (e.g., 500-1000 ng/dL). In order to assure that serum testosterone levels are in the target range (500-1000 ng/dL), testosterone dose will be adjusted by an unblinded individual two to three weeks after initiation of testosterone/placebo treatment, based on the measurement of serum testosterone levels. If the average testosterone level is less than 500 ng/dL, the daily dose will be increased to 15g of active gel. If the average testosterone is greater than 1,000 ng/dL, the daily dose will be decreased to 5 g of active gel (and 10 g of placebo gel). This dose adjustment will take effect at week 4 (day 28) of treatment. Subjects will be treated for an additional 12-weeks with sildenafil citrate and the optimized dose of testosterone gel or placebo gel. Sexual function will be evaluated at the end of this treatment period.

Conditions

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Erectile Dysfunction Testosterone Deficiency Diabetes

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Primary Study Purpose

TREATMENT

Blinding Strategy

DOUBLE

Participants Investigators

Study Groups

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Active Testosterone Gel

Active Testosterone Gel and on demand use of sildenafil citrate (3 tablets per week). Starting dose of 50 mg. Titrated to 100 mg or 25 mg depending on efficacy and tolerability. Begins as open label run in period for 3 - 6 weeks, and continues during the placebo-controlled testosterone gel intervention for 16 weeks.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Sildenafil citrate (open label)

Intervention Type DRUG

On demand use of sildenafil citrate (3 tablets per week). Starting dose of 50 mg. Titrated to 100 mg or 25 mg depending on efficacy and tolerability. Begins as open label run in period for 3 - 6 weeks, and continues during the placebo-controlled testosterone gel intervention for 16 weeks.

Testosterone gel

Intervention Type DRUG

Testosterone Gel 1%: Starting active dose 10 g/day. Increased to 15 g/day or decreased to 5 g/day in order to attain morning total testosterone level between 500 - 1000 ng/dL. Blinding achieved by combining a total of 3 tubes of active or placebo gel, applied to upper arms and shoulders each day.

Placebo Gel

Placebo Gel and on demand use of sildenafil citrate (3 tablets per week). Starting dose of 50 mg. Titrated to 100 mg or 25 mg depending on efficacy and tolerability. Begins as open label run in period for 3 - 6 weeks, and continues during the placebo-controlled testosterone gel intervention for 16 weeks.

Group Type PLACEBO_COMPARATOR

Sildenafil citrate (open label)

Intervention Type DRUG

On demand use of sildenafil citrate (3 tablets per week). Starting dose of 50 mg. Titrated to 100 mg or 25 mg depending on efficacy and tolerability. Begins as open label run in period for 3 - 6 weeks, and continues during the placebo-controlled testosterone gel intervention for 16 weeks.

Placebo gel

Intervention Type OTHER

3 tubes of placebo gel equivalent to the amount of the testosterone gel will be applied during the placebo-controlled testosterone gel intervention for 16 weeks..

Interventions

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Sildenafil citrate (open label)

On demand use of sildenafil citrate (3 tablets per week). Starting dose of 50 mg. Titrated to 100 mg or 25 mg depending on efficacy and tolerability. Begins as open label run in period for 3 - 6 weeks, and continues during the placebo-controlled testosterone gel intervention for 16 weeks.

Intervention Type DRUG

Testosterone gel

Testosterone Gel 1%: Starting active dose 10 g/day. Increased to 15 g/day or decreased to 5 g/day in order to attain morning total testosterone level between 500 - 1000 ng/dL. Blinding achieved by combining a total of 3 tubes of active or placebo gel, applied to upper arms and shoulders each day.

Intervention Type DRUG

Placebo gel

3 tubes of placebo gel equivalent to the amount of the testosterone gel will be applied during the placebo-controlled testosterone gel intervention for 16 weeks..

Intervention Type OTHER

Other Intervention Names

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Viagra (Pfizer Inc.) Testim (Auxilium Pharmaceuticals, Inc.)

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* Men, 40-70 years of age, in a stable relationship, with mild to moderate erectile dysfunction for at least 6 months; defined as an IIEF-EF domain score between 11 and 25 (mild to moderate ED)
* Neutral or extremely dissatisfied with one's sex life
* Presence of androgen deficiency defined as serum total testosterone level less than 300 ng/dL (measured by LC-MS/MS) and/or free testosterone level (measured by equilibrium dialysis) less than 50 pg/ml.
* Able to understand the nature of the study and provide written, informed consent

Exclusion Criteria

* Contraindication for use of testosterone, e.g., history of prostate or breast cancer
* benign prostatic hyperplasia with AUA/IPSS symptom scores of 21 or greater
* erythrocytosis (hematocrit \>50% at baseline)
* untreated, severe sleep apnea
* serum PSA levels \>4 ug/L will be excluded unless they have had a urologic evaluation in the past three months to exclude prostate cancer.
* Contraindication for use of sildenafil, e.g., symptomatic coronary artery disease taking long-acting or short-acting nitrate drugs on a regular basis.
* Symptomatic postural hypotension
* Congestive heart failure with class III or IV symptoms
* History of myocardial infarction or stroke within the past six months
* Primary diagnosis of another sexual disorder such as premature ejaculation
* AST, ALT, alkaline phosphatase elevation greater than three times the upper limit of normal, creatinine greater than 2 mg/dL.
* Currently taking testosterone or oral androgen precursors; unless willing to discontinue their use for 4 weeks (oral precursors or transdermal testosterone patch or gel) or 6 weeks (if injectable testosterone) before the initial screen visit.
* Currently taking medications that affect androgen metabolism, action, or clearance (dilantin, phenobarbital, aldactone, flutamide, finasteride).
* Uncontrolled diabetes mellitus or diabetes mellitus, e.g., if their baseline hemoglobin A1C is less than 8.5%.
* Structural abnormalities of the penis, including Peyronie's disease, will be excluded.
* Men who are taking medications for erectile dysfunction, including sildenafil, must stop using these medications for at least 4 weeks before starting Visit 2.
* DSM-IV criteria for an Axis I psychiatric disorder within the past year, including depression; use of psychotropic medication for at least six months, or dementia is also an exclusion.
Minimum Eligible Age

40 Years

Maximum Eligible Age

70 Years

Eligible Sex

MALE

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sponsors

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Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)

NIH

Sponsor Role collaborator

Boston University

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Responsibility Role SPONSOR

Principal Investigators

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Shalender Bhasin, MD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Brigham and Women's Hospital

Locations

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Boston University Medical Center

Boston, Massachusetts, United States

Site Status

Countries

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United States

References

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Lee H, Hwang EC, Oh CK, Lee S, Yu HS, Lim JS, Kim HW, Walsh T, Kim MH, Jung JH, Dahm P. Testosterone replacement in men with sexual dysfunction. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2024 Jan 15;1(1):CD013071. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD013071.pub2.

Reference Type DERIVED
PMID: 38224135 (View on PubMed)

Wilson E, Gannon H, Chimhini G, Fitzgerald F, Khan N, Lorencatto F, Kesler E, Nkhoma D, Chiyaka T, Haghparast-Bidgoli H, Lakhanpaul M, Cortina Borja M, Stevenson AG, Crehan C, Sassoon Y, Hull-Bailey T, Curtis K, Chiume M, Chimhuya S, Heys M. Protocol for an intervention development and pilot implementation evaluation study of an e-health solution to improve newborn care quality and survival in two low-resource settings, Malawi and Zimbabwe: Neotree. BMJ Open. 2022 Jul 5;12(7):e056605. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2021-056605.

Reference Type DERIVED
PMID: 35790332 (View on PubMed)

Spitzer M, Bhasin S, Travison TG, Davda MN, Stroh H, Basaria S. Sildenafil increases serum testosterone levels by a direct action on the testes. Andrology. 2013 Nov;1(6):913-8. doi: 10.1111/j.2047-2927.2013.00131.x. Epub 2013 Sep 18.

Reference Type DERIVED
PMID: 24106072 (View on PubMed)

Spitzer M, Basaria S, Travison TG, Davda MN, DeRogatis L, Bhasin S. The effect of testosterone on mood and well-being in men with erectile dysfunction in a randomized, placebo-controlled trial. Andrology. 2013 May;1(3):475-82. doi: 10.1111/j.2047-2927.2013.00075.x. Epub 2013 Mar 15.

Reference Type DERIVED
PMID: 23494931 (View on PubMed)

Spitzer M, Basaria S, Travison TG, Davda MN, Paley A, Cohen B, Mazer NA, Knapp PE, Hanka S, Lakshman KM, Ulloor J, Zhang A, Orwoll K, Eder R, Collins L, Mohammed N, Rosen RC, DeRogatis L, Bhasin S. Effect of testosterone replacement on response to sildenafil citrate in men with erectile dysfunction: a parallel, randomized trial. Ann Intern Med. 2012 Nov 20;157(10):681-91. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-157-10-201211200-00004.

Reference Type DERIVED
PMID: 23165659 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

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R01HD047722-01A1

Identifier Type: NIH

Identifier Source: secondary_id

View Link

H-25065

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

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