Method of treatment and prophylaxis

Abstract

Treatment or prophylaxis of persistent penile erection resulting from, for example, physiological dysfunction, trauma, surgical intervention, or chemical induction. The method of the present invention is practiced by the administration of an agent capable of inducing, promoting, or otherwise facilitating contraction of the cavernosum. Another aspect of the present invention provides a composition comprising a cavernosum contraction-inducing, -promoting, or -facilitation agent. In one embodiment, the agents of the present invention are prostaglandins or functional derivatives, homologues, analogues, agonists, mimetics, or metabolites thereof. This invention also provides a means for diagnosing the physiological basis behind penile dysfunction.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . A pharmaceutical composition comprising an amount of prostaglandin A1, prostaglandin B1, prostaglandin B2, or prostaglandin A2 effective to induce, promote, or otherwise facilitate contraction of corpora cavernosa muscle in the cavernosum in penile tissue of a subject to whom the composition is administered, in combination with one or more pharmaceutically acceptable carriers and/or diluents, wherein said composition does not raise the systemic blood pressure of the subject to whom it is administered.  
     
     
         2 . The pharmaceutical composition of  claim 1 , wherein the prostaglandin is prostaglandin A2.  
     
     
         3 . The pharmaceutical composition of  claim 1 , formulated in a form suitable for intracavernous administration.  
     
     
         4 . The pharmaceutical composition of  claim 3 , comprising 150 μg of prostaglandin A2.  
     
     
         5 . The pharmaceutical composition of  claim 1 , configured to provide a dosage in the range of from 0.5 to 2.5 micrograms per kilogram of subject body weight.