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CompletedNCT00882934DAFA06Updated Apr 17, 2009

The Management of Erectile Dysfunction With Placebo Only

An interventional study of Induction to efficient treatment and Doubt to the efficacy of treatment in Impotence and Erectile Dysfunction, sponsored by Rio de Janeiro State University. Completed. Open to male participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2009-04-17.

Sponsored by Rio de Janeiro State University · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment

Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
123
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
18 Years and older
Sex
Male
01

Study summary

Placebo-controlled randomized clinical trials (RCT) are the gold standard to provide applicable evidence for clinical practice. A vast number of RCTs for treatment of several disorders has shown a mean placebo effect of 30%. Erectile dysfunction (ED) is a high prevalent disease and its first-line therapy is oral phosphodiesterase type-5 inhibitor (iPDE5) (i.e., sildenafil, vardenafil and tadalafil). Although the placebo effect in iPDE5 RCT occurred at a rate as high as 50%, in the last decade, with the revolutionary discovery of effective pharmacotherapy for ED, oral iPDE5 has become one of the most common prescribed drugs for men. The objective of this study is to evaluate the influence of patients' awareness on the composition of the therapeutic drug in the outcomes of the oral treatment for ED.

02

Conditions studied

  • Impotence
  • Erectile Dysfunction

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Keywords

  • Placebo
  • Placebo Effect
  • Sexual Dysfunction
  • Erectile Dysfunction
  • Clinical Trial
03

In context

Erectile Dysfunction

683 studies on the registry are indexed under Erectile Dysfunction; 117 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 123 is above the median of 72 across 542 interventional studies indexed under Erectile Dysfunction.

Browse Erectile Dysfunction studies →

Lead sponsor

Rio de Janeiro State University is the lead sponsor of 62 studies on the registry; 6 are open to participants now.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years and older
Sexes eligible
Male
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

  • 18 years of age or older
  • Complaint of ED for at least 6 months prior the start of the study, according to medical history and to the questionnaires IIEF, SEAR and QEQ.
  • A stable heterosexual relationship.
  • To be in good health prior the participation in the study, with no important clinical abnormalities, determined by: clinical history, physical examination, blood chemistry and hematology, urinalysis (If the standard values of the laboratory for these tests are not evidenced, subjects can be included if the researcher consider the changes as not clinically significant).

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • History of significant cardiovascular, pulmonary, gastrointestinal, hematological, neurological (including epilepsy), locomotor, immunologic, ophthalmic, metabolic, endocrine, thromboembolic, rheumatologic, cancer, kidney or liver disease.
  • Diagnosis of psychiatric conditions, e.g. depression, anxiety, dysthymia, mania, panic, agoraphobia, social phobia, suicidal ideation, obsessive-compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress, psychotic disorders, schizophrenia, alcoholism, dependence on psycho-active substances.
  • History of HIV, hepatitis B or hepatitis C.
  • Hyperprolactinemia or untreated hypothyroidism.
  • Any condition, which, in the opinion of the investigator, may interfere with the participation of the subject in the study (e.g. difficulty to meet the requirements of the study, attend the consultations, answer the questionnaires).
  • Report of significant clinical problems by the subject's partner, such as decreased sexual interest, pain during relations or other forms of sexual dysfunction that interfere in the relationship with the sexual partner.
  • Patient or partner willing to undergo a surgical procedure during the study period, which may interfere in the results.
  • Peyronie's disease, which may lead to impossibility to penetrate or cause pain during the sexual intercourse.
  • Use of nitrates.
  • Illiterate patient.
05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
Single (Investigator)
Enrollment
123 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    A1

    Arm 1 received an informative letter explaining that they were allocated to receive a substance for Erectile Dysfunction treatment.

    Other: Induction to efficient treatment

  • Placebo comparator
    A2

    Arm 2 (A2) was written informed that they could or could not receive an active drug for ED treatment.

    Other: Doubt to the efficacy of treatment

  • Experimental
    A3

    Arm 3 (A3) was properly written informed to be using no effective drug for ED treatment.

    Other: Induction to ineffective treatment

Interventions

  • OtherInduction to efficient treatment

    Informative letters.

  • OtherDoubt to the efficacy of treatment

    Informative letters.

  • OtherInduction to ineffective treatment

    Informative letters

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. IIEF erectile function domain score

    Time frame: 4 AND 8 Weeks

  2. Quality of Erection Questionnaire (QEQ)

    Time frame: 4 and 8 weeks

Secondary outcomes

  1. IIEF orgasmic function, sexual desire, intercourse satisfaction and overall satisfaction domain scores

    Time frame: 4 and 8 weeks

  2. SEAR questionnaire

    Time frame: 4 and 8 weeks

  3. EDITS questionnaire

    Time frame: 4 and 8 weeks

  4. GEAQ questionnaire

    Time frame: 4 and 8 weeks

07

Study locations

No study locations are listed for this record.

08

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Apr 17, 2009, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
09

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT00882934
Lead sponsor
Rio de Janeiro State University
First posted
Apr 17, 2009
Start date
Oct 2006
Primary completion
Oct 2007
Completion
Jan 2008
Last update
Apr 17, 2009

Study contacts

Eloisio Alexsandro da Silva, MD, PhD
study chair · Laboratory for Translational Research in Urology

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
Yes
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

Not currently enrolling

This study is completed, as verified in Apr 2009. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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