Peyronie's disease (PD), a fibrotic disorder of the tunica albuginea fully described in 1793 by French physician Francois de la Peyronie, is characterized by pain, plaque formation, penile deformity, and ultimately sexual function decline. The epidemiological data on PD vary considerably across previous studies, with recent evidence reporting a prevalence of up to 9%. PD is generally divided into two different phases: active or acute and stable or chronic. Plaque formation generally occurs during the acute phase, while during chronic phase pain usually tends to complete resolution and penile deformity stabilizes. PD's pathophysiology is still subject of great discussion. Tunical mechanical stress and microvascular trauma are major contributory factors. However, better understanding of the molecular pathophysiology of this condition remains paramount towards an in-depth comprehension of the disorder and the development of newer and more effective disease-targeted interventions. In this review we provide a detailed overview of natural history of PD, specifically focusing on clinical manifestations and the underlying molecular regulation patterns.
The world journal of men's health. 2020 Jul 08 [Epub ahead of print]
Fabrizio Di Maida, Gianmartin Cito, Luca Lambertini, Francesca Valastro, Girolamo Morelli, Andrea Mari, Marco Carini, Andrea Minervini, Andrea Cocci
Department of Urology, Careggi Hospital, University of Florence, Florence, Italy., Department of Urology, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy., Department of Urology, Careggi Hospital, University of Florence, Florence, Italy. .