Association of urinary nerve growth factor levels with erectile function in young men with type 2 diabetes mellitus

We investigated urine nerve growth factor (NGF) levels and erectile dysfunction in diabetic men <45 years of age. Urinary NGF levels were measured in 72 diabetic men and 20 control subjects without lower urinary tract symptoms or erectile dysfunction. Participants were evaluated using the International Prostate Symptom Score, quality of life index, Overactive Bladder Symptom Score (OABSS), the five-item version of the International Index of Erectile Function questionnaire (IIEF-5), the patient perception of bladder condition questionnaire, measurement of flow rate and post-void residual urine volume. The results showed that the diabetic men had significantly higher urinary normalized NGF/creatinine (Cr) levels compared to the healthy controls (0.48±1.2 vs 0.01±0.01, P=0.04). The increased urinary NGF/Cr levels correlated negatively with the IIEF-5 total score (P=0.03, coefficient=-0.26, -0.02 to -0.47). The 42 patients with urinary NGF/Cr levels <0.05 had higher IIEF-5 scores than the 30 patients with urinary NGF/Cr level ⩾0.05 (20.2±4.6 vs 16.9±6.7, P=0.03). We conclude that urinary NGF levels were associated with erectile dysfunction in the men with type 2 <45 years of age.International Journal of Impotence Research advance online publication, 9 February 2017; doi:10.1038/ijir.2017.2.

International journal of impotence research. 2017 Feb 09 [Epub ahead of print]

C-C Wang, C-H Liao, H-T Liu, J-M Lin, H-C Kuo

Department of Urology, En Chu Kong Hospital, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan., Department of Urology, Cardinal Tien Hospital and School of Medicine, Fu-Jen Catholic University, Taipei, Taiwan., Department of Urology, Buddhist Tzu Chi General Hospital, Tzu Chi University, Hualien, Taiwan., Department of Internal Medicine, En Chu Kong Hospital, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.