BERKELEY, CA (UroToday.com) - The findings of the present study are relevant in that we demonstrate arterial stiffness, as measured by the Augmentation Index (AI), is higher in erectile dysfunction (ED) patients with and without risk factors compared with the controls with risk factors; this latter group was age-matched with that of ED patients.
This suggests that ageing may not be the predominant mechanism of increased arterial stiffness. As atherosclerosis is a diffuse disease process, and usually there is significant correlation between abnormalities in the central and peripheral vascular beds, peripheral vascular testing for endothelial function has evolved as a more feasible testing modality for assessing larger patient populations.
We believe that endothelial dysfunction at the penile vascular bed may in some way precede systemic endothelial dysfunction as detected by brachial veno-occlusive pletismography. Thus, it is speculated that in men with ED, the finding of an abnormal AI at EndoPAT2000 may represent an early detection of a systemic vascular damage that may become manifest later in life. We recommend patients with normal endothelial function to be treated with on-demand phosphodiesterase type-5 inhibitors and those with abnormal endothelial function with daily dosing of phosphodiesterase type-5 inhibitors. Moreover, ambulatory testing may play a role in defining the vascular response to various medical therapies for ED.
Written by:
Antonio Aversa, MD, PhD as part of Beyond the Abstract on UroToday.com. This initiative offers a method of publishing for the professional urology community. Authors are given an opportunity to expand on the circumstances, limitations etc... of their research by referencing the published abstract.
UroToday.com Erectile Dysfunction (ED) Section