Current treatment of male sexual dysfunction

Abstract

Erectile dysfunction (ED) is highly prevalent among patients with diabetes. According to various epidemiological studies, diabetes triples the risk of developing ED¹. Both conditions share a common denominator, which is endothelial damage. Comorbidities such as metabolic syndrome and hypogonadism are frequently present in both populations, as well as macrovascular complications (cardiovascular disease) and microvascular complications such as neuropathy and nephropathy². Therefore, the diagnosis and treatment of ED is not limited to prescribing a pill; it is an opportunity to delve deeper into lifestyle changes, control of factors that generally accompany these patients, and hormone replacement therapy in hypogonadal men³. Phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors are less effective in patients with diabetes due to cavernous neuropathy and endothelial damage, and often, second and third-line treatments are required, such as intracavernosal drug applications, vacuum devices, low-intensity shock waves, and prosthetic implant surgery⁴.