Thinking Harder

Cialis Side Effect: Erection Drug Overdose Linked to Stroke

By Ben Harder

Posted: April 8, 2008

Can a man OD on an ED drug? Yes, according to doctors in Rome who treated a patient after he popped two of the pills at once. Their case report links the 70-year-old man's intracerebral hemorrhage, a kind of stroke, to his decision to take 40 milligrams of tadalafil (Cialis)—twice the dose he had been prescribed and four times the standard dose of that erectile dysfunction drug. He took the pills, they write in today's issue of Neurology, "1 hour before onset of his acute headache and...his symptoms worsened moderately during his sexual intercourse."

It's just a single case, of course, so it doesn't prove cause and effect. And the doctors who treated and released the man identified only three previous medical reports that have linked ED drugs to intracerebral hemorrhage, suggesting that it is an extremely rare side effect. Still, those reports have implicated both sildenafil citrate, which is the active ingredient in Viagra, and vardenafil, which is in Levitra. So, none of the three drugs in that widely used class of ED medications is off the hook.

Moral of the story: One dose, good. Two, too many.

Nice! We really amused by the website.: URLsWithHREF

of RI @ Nov 25, 2009 12:10:19 PM

WOW, so much stuff here, an excellent resource. Thanks guys!: URLsWithURL

of AK @ Nov 25, 2009 12:10:05 PM

WOW, so much stuff here, an excellent resource. Thanks guys!: URLsWithURL

of AK @ Nov 25, 2009 12:09:53 PM

Add Your Thoughts
About You

advertisement

Thinking Harder

This blog is the public workshop of U.S. News writer and editor Ben Harder. In articles published in the magazine, he has covered a range of sciences, including medicine, human behavior, prehistory, and evolution. Here, he can explore those and other scientific fields more fully and more informally than is possible in print. He'll share whatever seems noteworthy or potentially useful, and he invites readers to do the same.

WTOP Audio
On Feb. 24, 2008, Ben discussed the link between artificial light and cancer on WTOP radio. Listen to the interview at WTOP News. He again talked about light pollution on WTOP on March 22, exploring its environmental effects.

advertisement

National Science Foundation

NSF

Wolves, Moose and Soil Nutrients: The Unexpected Connection

Researchers were startled to discover "hot spots" of forest fertility.

Predicting Who Will Survive Skin Cancer

Using new techniques, researchers may now be able to predict the survivability of skin cancer.

Record Highs Far Outpace Lows Across U.S.

Daily record high temperatures occurred twice as often as record lows over the past decade.

Science Discoveries

Science Discoveries

iTunes icon RSS icon

Subscribe

U.S. News Digital Weekly

A weekly insider's guide to politics and policy — in a multimedia, digital format. 52 issues for $19.95!

U.S. News & World Report

6 months of U.S. News & World Report's print edition for only $15. Save up to 67% off the cover price!