For physicians, there’s a deeply frustrating quality about bacteria and viruses. There are so many of them and so many different ways in which they can make us ill, it’s impossible to know which one is responsible for any illness without detailed and often expensive tests. Even if the number of possible causes for an illness, disease or disorder can be narrowed down, it usually comes down to a guess. And even if the guess is right, there are sometimes no guaranteed treatments. It’s tough being a physician, having to deal with all the uncertainty when all a patient ever wants to hear is an assurance the cure is coming.

For many years, medical research teams have been trying to unravel the link between erectile dysfunction and cardiovascular disease. It’s like being a detective following clues in the hope they will lead you to the killer. On the way, they noticed some similarities with the risk profile of men with rheumatism. There’s a proven cause and effect between rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and an acceleration in the onset of artherosclerosis. One of the first signs the arteries are hardening is erectile dysfunction. The arteries leading into the penis are small and among the first to be affected. It is also a sad medical fact that men with RA are twice as likely to have a heart attack as men without RA. An Irish team has now formally found evidence associating rheumatism with erectile dysfunction. This is the first time erectile dysfunction has been linked with a condition causing inflammation.

Before we all get too carried away with excitement at this new insight into erectile dysfunction, we need to be clear about the status of the research. This was an observational study. In other words, it took a small sample of men as they passed through a hospital clinic and interviewed them. The results are somewhat startling with a strong correlation being established between the rheumatism, erectile dysfunction and cardiovascular disease, but there must be formal follow-up with a properly constructed research project to comply with the scientific method.

While we are waiting for the second stage of research, this leaves many men with rheumatism in pain and potentially suffering from erectile dysfunction. The treatment approach has to follow two strands. The first is the purely physical. The enjoyment of sex is complete when both parties can move around with reasonable flexibility. If one is in pain or something interferes with mobility, sex is less satisfying. The first step is therefore pain management and physical therapy to encourage movement in the joints. In this, the encouraging news from Boston is that the resumption of regular sexual activity releases endorphins into the body which relieves pain and improves the mood. The second strand deals with the quality of the erections. Here viagra is the proven treatment, giving the vast majority of men a better quality erection the first time the drug is taken. The second piece of good news from Boston is that the more often you have sex, the better the quality of the erections. Exercising the muscles improves performance. So once you have discussed safety with your doctor in combining drugs to control the inflammation and the pain, buy viagra to restart sexual activity with full satisfaction.