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Sexual dysfunction with antihypertensive and antipsychotic agents.
Clinical Pharmacy
|May 1, 1986
Summary
Antihypertensive and antipsychotic medications can cause sexual dysfunction, impacting patient adherence. Switching medications with different mechanisms can often resolve these sexual side effects while maintaining disease control.
Area of Science:
- Pharmacology
- Sexual Medicine
- Endocrinology
Background:
- Normal sexual response involves complex neurogenic, psychogenic, vascular, and hormonal factors.
- Sexual dysfunction is a common side effect of antihypertensive and antipsychotic medications.
- This dysfunction can lead to poor patient compliance with prescribed treatments.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the physiology of normal sexual response.
- To discuss the epidemiology of drug-induced sexual dysfunction.
- To outline pharmacologic mechanisms and management strategies for these adverse effects.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of physiological sexual response.
- Analysis of epidemiological data on sexual dysfunction.
- Examination of pharmacologic mechanisms of drug-induced sexual dysfunction.
Main Results:
- Antihypertensive agents commonly cause impotence (e.g., methyldopa, propranolol).
- Antipsychotic agents frequently lead to ejaculatory disturbances (e.g., thioridazine).
- Mechanisms include adrenergic inhibition, receptor blockade, anticholinergic effects, and sedation.
Conclusions:
- Drug-induced sexual dysfunction is a significant issue affecting treatment adherence.
- Management involves identifying the specific drug and its mechanism.
- Switching to medications with different pharmacologic profiles can alleviate side effects.