THURSDAY, Sept. 13 (HealthDay News) -- The drug Cialis (tadalafil) appears to help treat erectile dysfunction (ED) in men with spinal cord injuries, according to a French study of 197 male spinal cord injury patients.

The researchers, from Raymond Poincare Hospital in Garches, noted that only about 25 percent of men with spinal cord injuries are able to have erections that are adequate for intercourse.

For the first four weeks of the study, the men received no treatment. They were then randomly assigned to receive Cialis or a placebo for 12 weeks. The men, who averaged 38 years of age, were instructed to take the drug/placebo as needed before sexual activity, with a maximum of one dose daily.

After the 12-week treatment period, all the men filled out a questionnaire to assess erectile dysfunction. Men who took the drug had an average score of 22.6 (mild ED), while those who took the placebo had an average score of 13.6 (moderate ED).

On average, men who took Cialis were 75.4 percent successful when attempting penetration and 47.6 percent successful when attempting intercourse, compared with 41.1 percent and 16.8 percent, respectively, for men who took the placebo.

The most common side effects among the men who took Cialis were headache (8.5 percent) and urinary tract infection (7.7 percent).

The study, funded by Cialis' maker Lilly ICOS LLC, was posted online Sept. 10 and is expected to be published in the November print issue of the journal Archives of Neurology.

More information

The University of Alabama at Birmingham has more about sexual function for men with spinal cord injury.