Alprostadil

Alprostadil is a chemically-identical synthetic form of prostaglandin E1 (PGE1), a potent vasodilator produced endogenously. In 1996, the FDA approved the use of alprostadil, administered either with an intracavernosal injection or an intraurethral suppository, for the treatment of erectile dysfunction, and it is used in men for whom oral treatment is either contraindicated or ineffective. After administration, alprostadil promotes smooth muscle relaxation of the corpus cavernosal.

Alprostadil is also used in neonatal patients with congenital heart defects that depend on a patent ductus for survival until corrective or palliative surgery can be performed. This drug causes vasodilation by directly affecting vascular and ductus arteriosus (DA) smooth muscle, preventing or reversing the functional closure of the DA that occurs shortly after birth. This results in increased pulmonary or systemic blood flow in infants.

Alprostadil is indicated for palliative, not definitive, therapy to temporarily maintain the patency of the ductus arteriosus until corrective or palliative surgery can be performed in neonates who have congenital heart defects and who depend upon the patent ductus for survival. It is also indicated for the treatment of erectile dysfunction due to neurogenic, vasculogenic, psychogenic, or mixed etiology, and as an adjunct to other diagnostic tests in the diagnosis of erectile dysfunction.