Key result
Tadalafil, a once-daily PDE-5 inhibitor, is reviewed for its therapeutic role and recent clinical trial results in the management of pulmonary arterial hypertension.
Tadalafil is a once-daily PDE-5 inhibitor that offers an alternative to three-times daily sildenafil for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension.
Supports once-daily tadalafil convenience in PAH; leaves open head-to-head efficacy trials versus sildenafil.
Tadalafil is a selective inhibitor of phosphodiesterase type-5 (PDE-5) that was originally developed for the treatment of male erectile dysfunction and recently approved for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). The antipulmonary hypertensive effects of nitric oxide and the natriuretic peptides are mediated via increasing intracellular cGMP and enzymatic degradation by PDE-5 is the major route of cGMP inactivation in the lung. Evidence is accruing that PDE-5 activity is increased in pulmonary vascular diseases and may contribute to the pathogenesis of PAH. The longer half-life of tadalafil allows for once-daily dosing as compared with three-times daily dosing for sildenafil, the only other PDE-5 inhibitor currently approved for treatment of PAH. This article reviews the role of cGMP and PDE-5 in PAH, presents the results of recent clinical trials and discusses the role of tadalafil in the treatment of this rare but difficult-to-treat disease.
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James R. Klinger (2011) conducted a review in Pulmonary arterial hypertension. Tadalafil was evaluated. Tadalafil, a once-daily PDE-5 inhibitor, is reviewed for its therapeutic role and recent clinical trial results in the management of pulmonary arterial hypertension.
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