Erectile Dysfunction: Causes and Treatment

The repeated inability of the male partner to attain or sustain an erection firm enough to carry-on and complete a sexual intercourse is termed as Erectile Dysfunction. The problem known to increase with age, affects as high as 50 percent men between the ages of 40 and 70.

Medically, Erectile dysfunction, is defined as the combination of;

• total inability to achieve erection,
• an inconsistent ability to do so,
• or a tendency to sustain only brief erections.

Causes of Erectile Dysfunction
Numerous physical and psychological reasons can lead to erectile dysfunction. Some include:
• Medical problems: like Diabetes (high blood sugar), Hypertension (high blood pressure) and Atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) damage blood vessels and cause a reduction in blood flow throughout the body, often leading to impotence.
• Drugs: Commonly used drugs like heart medications, antidepressants, tranquilizers and sedatives are known to cause or contribute to impotence.
• Hormone Disorders: Low levels of Testosterone , the hormone behind increased sexual desire can cause impotence.
• Injury: Injuries specifically related to brain or spinal cord can cause impotence, as the signaling from the brain to penis is disrupted.
• Psychological issues: Psychological issues like depressiondefine, guilt, undergoing problematic relationships and stress, all add to anxiety and thus reduced sexual control.
• Lifestyle conditions: Drinking too much alcohol, smoking, drug abuse, all cause erectile dysfunction.

Diagnoses:
Apart from basic laboratory tests focusing on blood and urine analysis, physicians may seek a medical examination to indicate any neurological, vasculardefine or hormonal disease the patient is suffering from. Furthermore, a counseling session to peep into the family history, relationship issues, lifestyle conditions, help the physician to ascertain things.

Treatment:
Depending upon the cause of dysfunction, the physician decides the course of treatment. While, making a few healthy lifestyle changes like quitting smoking, lowering alcohol intake, checking drug abuse, losing the excess pounds and increasing physical activity may help regain sexual functioning in some men, the treatment might be complicated, tougher and at times invasive, for others.

Drug Therapy:
Drug therapy to cure Erectile Dysfunction includes all kinds of medications, those taken orally, injected directly into the penis, or inserted into the urethradefine at the tip of the penis. Depending upon the stage of dysfunction, the therapy can be selected.

Vacuum devices:
Mechanical devices that work on the concept of manually creating an erection, promote erection work by creating a partial vacuum, thus drawing blood into the penis, engorging and expanding it. Vacuum devices work best in men who are able to achieve partial erections. These devices are easy to use at home and can be used to typically improve erections regardless of the cause of impotence.

Surgery:
A physician recommends a surgical procedure -
• to implant a device that can cause the penis to become erect
• to reconstruct arteries, in order to increase flow of blood to the penis
• to block off veins that allow blood to leak from the penile tissues

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June 8, 2008 | Filed Under Erectile Dysfunction 
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