Exploring of Recent pharmaceutical applications of Sildenafil in medicine: review article

Sildenafil (SIL), a phosphodiesterase enzyme 5 (PDE5) inhibitor, has become a prominent molecule for the erectile dysfunction (ED) treatment. It has assumed a major role in the treatment of this disease due to the demonstrated efficacy, ease of use, good tolerability, and positive impact on the quality of life of patients. SIL has multiple pharmacological actions that grasp the researchers’ attention due to its various pharmaceutical applications. In addition to its efficacy in treating erectile dysfunction (ED), SIL is extensively employed in the treatment of intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR), benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH), Eisenmenger's syndrome and Mountain sickness, kidney diseases, pulmonary arterial hypertension. Furthermore, SIL also exhibits promise antiproliferative, anti-Alzheimer, and anti-inflammatory properties. Finally, the pharmacodynamics, pharmacokinetics, drug interactions, and SIL toxicity were investigated. The adequate pharmacokinetic properties of SIL and the diverse therapeutic applications have encouraged researchers to generate new applications that have either been approved by the FDA or are currently undergoing clinical trials like osteoarthritis (OA), COVID-19, female urinary incontinence (UI) and Maternally Inherited Leigh syndrome (MILS).