Endocrine Abstracts

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: Smoking habit has always been considered to exert a detrimental effect on male reproductive health. However, several studies do not clearly demonstrate a negative effect of smoke on semen parameters. In addition, the effect of smoke on male genital tract has been poorly studied by ultrasound (US). We evaluated the correlations of smoking with seminal and US characteristics in males of infertile couples. Methods. A consecutive series of 426 men was systematically ...

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...

Introduction: The impact of metabolic syndrome (MetS) on male infertility has been poorly studied. We recently reported that MetS is associated with hypogonadism, poor sperm morphology and testis ultrasound inhomogeneity. However, the possible associations between MetS and prostate-related symptoms and signs are still lacking.Methods: Out of 351 subjects without genetic abnormalities previously evaluated for couple infertility clinically and by scrotal u...

Objective: To verify whether, in a large sample of male subjects seeking medical care for sexual dysfunction (SD), prostate-specific antigen (PSA) might represent a reliable marker of testosterone bioactivity, even downstream to its receptor binding.Design: Cross-sectional study.Methods: A consecutive series of 3156 patients attending our Unit for SD studied. Among them, only subjects without history of prostate disease and with PS...

Introduction: The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) algorithm is one of the most efficient instruments for the prediction of incident type 2 diabetes (T2DM). Recently it has been shown to predict another relevant cardiovascular (CV) risk factor, such as chronic kidney disease.The aim of the present study is to verify whether, in patients with erectile dysfunction (ED), the use of ARIC diabetes risk score might improve the efficacy in predicting ...

Introduction: Hypoactive sexual desire is defined as a persistent or recurrent deficient or absent sexual fantasies or desire for sexual activity which should not be comorbid with other medical conditions or with the use of psychoactive medications. Reduced libido is a symptom referring more to a reduction in sexual drive for sexual activity. The aim of the present study is to investigate the risk factors of primary reduced libido (i.e. not associated with conditions causing l...

Introduction: The classification of subjects as low or high cardiovascular (CV) risk is usually performed by risk engines, based upon multivariate prediction algorithms. However, their accuracy in predicting major adverse CV events (MACE) is lower in high-risk populations, since they take into account only conventional risk factors.Aim: To evaluate the accuracy of Progetto Cuore risk engine in predicting MACE in subjects with erectile dysfunction (ED), a...

Introduction: The relational domain of erectile dysfunction (ED) is difficult to investigate in a clinical setting. We developed and validated SIEDY, a 13-item structured interview, which assesses, beside the organic (Scale1) and intra-psychic (Scale 3) domains, also the relation one (Scale 2). We previously established a pathological threshold for SIEDY Scale 1 and 3.Aim: To identify a pathological threshold of SIEDY Scale 2.Metho...