POSTED: 5:51 p.m. PDT August 20, 2003

Micki Flowers
KIRO 7 Eyewitness News Health Reporter

Men who suffer erectile dysfunction now have another choice besides Viagra.

The Food and Drug Administration just approved Levitra for market.

It offers a second option to an estimated 30 million American men. And clinical trials show the drug is very effective.

Aaron Danton, in his mid 30's, had tried other drugs for erectile dysfunction. But results were mixed.

Then he enrolled in a study of a new drug called Levitra.

"My experience with Levitra is that it improved the quality of my sexual response," Danton said.

It's in the same class of drugs as Viagra, which has been the only pill available in the U.S. Both target an enzyme important for maintaining an erection.

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Bellevue urologist Dr. Richard Pelman says a new choice is good for patients.

"At this point, we'd been restricted to one medication that was oral, and if that failed, then we were back to our old standards of an injection therapy, a vacuum device, a urethral suppository or a prosthetic. Now if we have a drug that isn't working well we can try another drug," Dr. Pelman said.

So far no studies have compared the two pills directly.

But Dr. Pelman points out a possible advantage to Levitra. He tells patients to wait a half hour after meals to take Viagra so it will work better.

"What I've heard about Levitra is that it's going to be absorbed, you can take it right on a meal and it'll be effective," he said.

Since both drugs work the same way in the body they carry similar warnings. For instance, men who have had a recent heart attack or stroke shouldn't take them.

Both drugs cause bad interactions with some medications. So neither should be taken without a doctor's advice.