Systemic sclerosis is a chronic multi-organ autoimmune disease, leading to important clinical and psychological implications.
Among organ complications, sexual dysfunction is a major issue for both male and female gender, with high prevalence and great impact on quality of life, although frequently not addressed by both clinicians and patients. While erectile dysfunction is the most common cause of sexual problems in males, genital tract and general physical changes are major contributors to sexual impairment in females.
This review presents current state of the art on this topic, discussing published data on presentation, evaluation and therapeutic options.
Autoimmun Rev. 2015 Jul 30. pii: S1568-9972(15)00165-2. doi: 10.1016/j.autrev.2015.07.016. [Epub ahead of print]
Bruni C1, Raja J2, Denton CP3, Matucci-Cerinic M4.
1 Dept Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Div Rheumatology, AOU Careggi, Firenze, Italy.
2 Rheumatology Unit, Department and Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
3 Centre for Rheumatology and Connective Tissue Diseases, UCL Medical School, Royal Free Campus, London, United Kingdom.
4 Dept Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Div Rheumatology, AOU Careggi, Firenze, Italy.