New Topical Spray Promising as Premature Ejaculation Treatment

June 2, 2010— -- Author and New York-based sex therapist Ian Kerner has something in common with hundreds of his current and former clients. He suffers from premature ejaculation.

"Premature ejaculation is the number one sexual problem that men deal with," he said. "I'm very aware of the feelings, the emotions and the stigma," he added.

It's often the butt of jokes, but for the men who have to deal with it, it's no laughing matter.

"In my case, it definitely hurt my relationships. It caused me to remove myself from intimacy, led to embarrassment and led me to see a sex therapist with a girlfriend who was very distressed that she was not enjoying sex with me," said Kerner.

Though the incidence of premature ejaculation varies depending on how the condition is defined, estimates suggest anywhere from 5 to 30 percent of men suffer from it.

"Rates of premature ejaculation potentially eclipse rates of erectile dysfunction, so a lot of men suffer from it, but there's not currently a solution that addresses the problem," said Kerner.

That's why he's excited about the news that came out of a session today at the American Urology Association's annual meeting.

Researchers found that men with primary premature ejaculation who used an experimental topical spray called PSD502 had ejaculation times more than five times longer than men who used a placebo spray. PSD502 is a combination of two common numbing agents – lidocaine and prilocaine.

"Combined results from the PS502 pivotal studies are very exciting and this is a significant milestone," said Dr. Ira Sharlip, lead investigator and clinical professor of urology at the University of California, San Francisco in a press release.

"I'm really hopeful and optimistic, because there isn't really an existing behavioral therapy technique that works out there," he said.

"The data look very solid. The men had increased latency times that looked clinically relevant," said Dr. Anthony Smith, professor and chief of the division of urology at the University of New Mexico.

Dr. Jason Greenfield, director of the New York Center for Human Sexuality at New York-Presbyterian/Columbia, said he's used EMLA cream, another topical treatment with the same ingredients as PSD502, and it's been effective. But he thinks PSD502 offers more advantages.

"There's less of a risk of the partner becoming numb as well," said Greenfield. "It also works faster and there are no side effects," he added.

There are currently no prescription therapies approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that treat premature ejaculation. If PSD502 does get approved by the FDA, it will be the first such treatment.