Long Answer: Like
Viagra
and Cialis, Levitra is a phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitor (PDE-5). All of
these drugs function in essentially the same way. In smooth muscle cells,
cGMP (cyclic guanosine monophosphate) mediates smooth muscle relaxation.
The more cGMP, the more the muscles can relax, the more blood can flow in, and the better the erection.
PDE-5 breaks down cGMP, so PDE-5 inhibitors like Levitra keep this from
happening, helping to maintain high levels of cGMP.
Levitra's strong point is that it is very
selective in attacking PDE-5 without affecting other isoenzymes. This
allows a smaller dose of Levitra to have the same effect as a larger dose
of Viagra (an average Levitra dose is 10mg while an average Viagra dose is
50mg), even though the two drugs essentially function the same way.
|
