Tuesday Sept 10, 2013 (foodconsumer.org) -- A study published in BMC Surgery suggests that tradamixina taken twice a day for a 2-month period can significantly increase libido and sexual performance in elderly men who have otheriwise low sex drive and or erectile dysfunction.

On the other hand, the study led by F. Iacono from Department of Urology, University Federico II of Naples in Naples, Italy and colleagues found Tadalafil taken daily for the same period did not significantly improve libido and other sexual function/performance.

Reduced libido is widely found associated with low testosterone levels in men and testosterone deficiency afflicts an estimated 30% of men aged 40-79 years, authors write in their study report.

The study was intended to evaluate the effect of a new natural compound called "tradamixina "on sexual function in elderly men, particularly libido and erectile dysfunction in comparison with administration of tadalafil 5 mg daily.

Tadalafil, also known as Cialis, is a PDE5 inhibitor which functions like Viagra to help men with erectile dysfunction and the drug is also prescribed under the name Adcirca to treat pulmonary arterial hypertension.

For the study, seventy patients aged 67 on average  who had stable marital relations and but were affected by reduced libido, with or without erectile dysfunction were assigned to receive twice a day "Tradamixina" which contained 150 mg of Alga Ecklonia Bicyclis, 396 mg of Tribulus Terrestris and 144 mg of D-Glucosamine and N-Acetyl-D-Glucosamine or Tadalafil 5 mg daily also for two months.

Patients were evaluated during and after 60 days of treatment for total and free testosterone and NPTR-which stands for nocturnal penile tumescence and rigidity test with Rigiscan. 

Patients completed a self-administered IIEF questionnaire (IIEF stands for The international index of erectile function) and SQoLM questionnaire (SQoLM stands for Sexual quality of life Questionnarie-Male).  And then results pre and post treatment were compared.

The researchers found after the 2-month treatment, Tradamixina almost tripled serum total testosterone levels and more than doubled free testosterone levels while tadalafil did not.

Tadalafil seemed to improve NPTR better than "Tradamixina".

The IIEF total score in those receiving Tradamixina increased after treatment while the score in those receiving Tadalafil increased slightly after treatment, the authors reported.

Both the dietary supplement and Tadalafil  more than doubled the SQoLM total score.

The researchers concluded "The treatment twice a day with "Tradamixina" for 2 months improved libido in elderly men without side effects of Tadalafil." (DL)