According the American Urological Association, premature ejaculation affects about 20% of males in the U.S. aged 18-59.

Premature ejaculation (PE) occurs before or soon after penetration; it often happens to men occasionally but can be a problem for many men and their partners if it happens regularly.

It is the most common male sexual dysfunction and is thought to be psychological but it can also be biological.

It has two classifications, primary premature ejaculation, where a man has experienced premature ejaculation throughout his sexually active life, and secondary premature ejaculation, which a man develops after have satisfying sex without ejaculatory problems.

Now a new drug, an antidepressant appears to treat the condition successfully and is apparently safe to use.

The antidepressant Dapoxetine is a short-acting selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) and is the first treatment specifically designed for premature ejaculation and in two major clinical trials involving 2,600 men suffering from premature ejaculation, the treatment was effective and delayed orgasm.

Dr. Jon Pryor, of the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis who led the study, says Dapoxetine was effective and generally well tolerated and improved improved patients’ perceptions of control over ejaculation, and their satisfaction with sexual intercourse.

The men in the studies were given either a placebo or Dapoxetine which they took one to three hours before having sex.

The researchers say that after 12 weeks of treatment there was a three- to four-fold increase in the time to ejaculation; side effects of the drug included nausea, diarrhoea, headache and dizziness.

Last October, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) refused to approve the drug and Johnson & Johnson’s Alza Corporation, the manufacturer, said it would continue to develop the treatment and would address questions raised by the FDA.

More men are affected by premature ejaculation than erectile dysfunction, the condition that made Pfizer’s impotence drug Viagra such a hit.

The research is published in The Lancet.

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The Lancet