Smoking and Obesity May Increase the Risk of Erectile Dysfunction

Erectile Dysfunction and Obesity

A prospective study by researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) has found that obesity and smoking are strongly associated with a greater risk of erectile dysfunction (ED). Meanwhile, regular physical activity appeared to have a significant impact on lowering the risk of Erectile Dysfunction. This is the first large-scale prospective study to examine the links between� � Erectile Dysfunction and smoking, obesity, alcohol and a sedentary lifestyle. The study will appear in the July 2006 issue of The Journal of Urology.
The researchers, led by Constance Bacon, a former post-doctoral fellow at HSPH, and Eric Rimm, associate professor of epidemiology and nutrition at HSPH, surveyed 22,086 healthy subjects between the ages of 40 and 75 from the Health Professionals Follow-up Study who reported good or very good erectile function and no major chronic disease before 1986. Among the participants, 17.7 percent (3,905) reported new onset of� � Erectile Dysfunction between 1986 and 2000. The researchers adjusted the results to take into account those with and without prostate cancer during the follow-up period, since prostate cancer treatments, such as radiation or surgery, may lead to Erectile Dysfunction.
The results showed that both smoking and obesity were associated with a higher risk of the development of� � Erectile Dysfunction among previously healthy men with good erectile function. The researchers also found that regular physical activity showed a strong inverse association with� � Erectile Dysfunction risk. "We found a 2.5-fold difference in risk of� � Erectile Dysfunction when we compared obese men who did little exercise with men who were not overweight and averaged 30 minutes of vigorous exercise a day. (Obesity was defined as a body mass index of more than 30 kilograms in weight divided by the square of height in meters.) For men younger than 55 there was a 4-fold difference in risk for the same comparison," said Rimm. Alcohol consumption did not increase the risk of Erectile Dysfunction. In general, men without prostate cancer showed stronger associations with these lifestyle factors than those with prostate cancer.
These results suggest that� � Erectile Dysfunction and coronary heart disease may share many of the same risk factors. Rimm said the results should encourage men to follow a more healthy lifestyle. "Many men may choose not to change to a healthier lifestyle, which includes exercise and a prudent diet, because they perceive heart disease as something that may only develop decades in the future. Hopefully, these results will help to motivate men to adopt a more active lifestyle to avoid a problem which may be more immediate," he said.

ErecAid Supplemental: Effective Erectile Dysfunction Treatment

Plethora Solutions Holdings PLC (“Plethora”, AIM: PLE), the specialist developer of products for the treatment and management of urological disorders, announces results of a study confirming the role its product, ErecAid, as a supplemental first line treatment for erectile dysfunction (ED). ErecAid is marketed through Plethora’s US subsidiary, Timm Medical Technologies, Inc. (“Timm Medical”, Minneapolis, MN).

The phosphodiesterase five inhibitors (PDE5i) such as Viagra and Cialis have become a major resource in the management of ED. Unfortunately, 30-50% of men report inadequate results with these oral medications. When patients fail to respond to the oral medications, physicians are often forced to consider more invasive and more complicated second line agents such as penile injections or urethral suppositories.
New data from a multi-center clinical trial led by investigators at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine demonstrate that use of the ErecAid vacuum erection device to augment PDE5i therapy can greatly improve patient satisfaction. Results of the study were presented at a recent North Central Sectional meeting of the American Urological Association.
Investigators at four separate study sites evaluated 69 men aged 36 to 82 with ED of diverse etiology who had responded inadequately to PDE5i therapy. Study subjects were allowed to continue use of PDE5i’s but were instructed to use the ErecAid device as an adjunct to their current oral medication. Study subjects were assessed using three validated measurements of erectile function and sexual satisfaction: the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF-5), the Sexual Encounter Profile (SEP-2 and SEP-3) and the Global Patient Assessment Scale (GAPS).
After 4 weeks of supplemental treatment with ErecAid, the IIEF-5 score improved substantially from a baseline of 9.0 to 17.6 (p<0.001). Moreover, of the 34 subjects unable to achieve an erection satisfactory for intercourse at baseline (SEP-2 response of “no”), 27 subjects (79%) reported erections satisfactory for intercourse following the addition of ErecAid (p<0.001). Finally, of 42 subjects reporting no or slight response to PDE5i at baseline (GAPS responses of “not at all” or “slightly”), 31 (74%) reported moderate or great improvement (GAPS responses of “moderately” or “greatly”) at the end of the 4 week study (p<0.001).
According to Dr. Arthur Burnett, Professor of Urology at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and the lead investigator of this trial, “This study confirms an earlier trial that many patients can achieve excellent results using ErecAid as an addition to oral PDE5i therapy. Based upon these results, I would encourage physicians treating ED to consider the importance of this approach in their treatment protocols and to discuss this option with their patients.”

Gene Therapy Works To Improve Erectile Dysfunction Resulting from Diabetes

Researchers from the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center have found that for diabetic rats, gene therapy can improve erectile dysfunction.
To show that vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) gene therapy leads to improvement in erectile dysfunction, researchers prepared three groups of rats, a normal control group and two groups in which diabetes had been induced. After six weeks of confirmed hypoglycemia in the diabetic rats, one group received VEGF gene therapy and the other group did not. Nine weeks after induction of diabetes, researchers measured the rats' intercavernous pressure in response to intercavernous stimulation; that is, the rats were stimulated to have erections and the strength of the blood flow was gauged. Control rats exhibited normal erectile function while the untreated diabetic rats' erectile pressure was only half that of the controls. Rats that had received VEGF gene therapy had erectile strength in between the controls' and the untreated diabetic rats'. It was confirmed through DNA and protein expression analysis that the gene therapy had been effective in the treated rats.
Analysis of the cavernosal tissue from rats in the treated diabetic group showed an increased number of smooth muscle cells compared to the diabetic control group.
"This research may hold the key for diabetic men experiencing erectile dysfunction," remarked Peter Schlegel, MD, Vice-President of the Society of Reproductive Surgeons. "If the technique can be translated to humans, it could greatly improve patients' quality of life, relieving them of having to resort to drugs, devices or surgery." O-27 Mills et al, Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) gene therapy using a non-viral gene delivery system improves erectile function in a diabetic rat model.