American Urological Association In Brief
This article was originally published in The Tan Sheet
Executive Summary
"Herbal Viagra" risk: Herbal products marketed as erectile dysfunction treatments should be monitored for potentially toxic pharmacologic concentrations of PDE5 inhibitors, according to study presented at American Urological Association meeting in San Francisco May 10. Neil Fleshner, MD, et al. found significant contamination with sildenafil and tadalafil in two of seven herbal brands marketed for ED treatment. Consumers and regulatory agencies "must be aware of these findings as these agents have known fatal interactions with prevalently consumed drugs (e.g. nitrates)," according to the study. Researchers say the findings "seriously challenge the concept of safety of CAM (complimentary alternative medicine) agents" and recommend "tighter regulation of CAM marketed preparations"...