Endocrine Abstracts

Background: Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a clustering of metabolic and cardiovascular risk factors, with insulin resistance being one of the main components. In male, MetS is also associated to hypogonadotropic hypogonadism. Lifestyle modifications (e.g. physical activity) could prevent or considerably reduce MetS progression, however the ability to perform physical activity is often impaired in MetS subjects.Aim: Considering the known trophic role of T ...

Testosterone (T) declines with ageing and chronic diseases, including obesity and metabolic conditions. This results in T levels in the hypogonadal range in up to 15% of middle-aged elderly men from European general population. These are at risk to develop the clinical consequences of decreased T. Low T is associated with reduced sexual desire, erectile dysfunction and orgasmic impairment. Restoring T levels using T replacement therapy is able to improve the symptoms. However,...

Background: Low testosterone (T) is frequent in men with chronical illnesses. The clinical features of T deficiency (TD) overlap with those of chronic diseases. The aim of this study is to evaluate the relative contribution of chronic disease score (CDS) and low T to the presence of TD symptoms.Methods: A consecutive series of 3862 men (aged 52.1±13.1 years) consulting for sexual dysfunction was studied. Several clinical and biochemical parameters w...

Introduction: Secondary hypogonadism (sHG) is the most common form of hypogonadism. sHG can arise from any dysregulation of hypothalamic-pituitary (HP) axis due to functional or organic disorders. HP organic disorders are often diagnosed using pituitary magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). However, MRI is an expensive and not widespread exam and it cannot be routinely offered to all sHG patient. The Endocrine Society guidelines suggest MRI scan in sHG men with total testosterone ...

Introduction: In the last few years the view that subclinical endocrine disorders represent milder forms of the clinically overt disease has emerged. Accordingly, it has been proposed that compensated hypogonadism represents a genuine clinical subgroup of individuals with late onset hypogonadism (LOH). The aim of the present study is to investigate the association of compensated hypogonadism with clinical and psychological characteristics of male subjects complaining for sexua...

Introduction: Erectile dysfunction (ED) is considered an early surrogate marker of silent, or even overt, cardiovascular diseases (CVD). However, epidemiological studies take into account only sexual intercourse-related erections. Although autoeroticism is a very common practice, data on masturbation-induced erections as a possible predictor of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) are lacking.Aim: To evaluate the clinical correlates of impaired mas...

Introduction: Conventional cardiovascular (CV) risk factors identify only half of subjects with incident major adverse CV events (MACE). Hence new markers are needed in high CV risk subjects, as those with erectile dysfunction (ED). A role for dynamic peak systolic velocity (D-PSV) at penile color Doppler ultrasound (PCDU) has been suggested, but it is operator-dependent and time-consuming. Flaccid penile acceleration (FPA) is a PCDU parameter that reflects PSV, the systolic r...

Introduction: In subjects with erectile dysfunction (ED) responding poorly to sildenafil, metformin was reported to improve erections.Aims: To investigate metformin’s mechanism of action on erectile function, particularly focusing on adenosine (ADO), and NO signalling in an animal model of high fat diet (HFD)-induced metabolic syndrome (MetS).Methods: In vitro contractility studies of penile strips. Penile expression ...

Introduction: Measurement of testis volume (TV) is a reliable clinical procedure that predicts reproductive fitness. However, the role of TV in overall and cardiovascular (CV) fitness has never been studied.Aim: The study aims to analyze the clinical correlates of TV in patients with sexual dysfunction (SD) and to verify the value of this parameter and its determinants (i.e., luteinizing hormone (LH) levels) in predicting major adverse CV events (MACE).<...

Introduction: Sexual dysfunctions (SD) are dictated by predisposing, precipitating, maintaining, and contextual factors, the latter of which can help sexual problems to emerge. Even if the lack of sexual privacy is one of the most common contextual issues, it has not been extensively studied.Aim: Investigation of sexual privacy in a large sample of men consulting for SD.Methods: A consecutive series of 3736 men, attending the Outpa...