Eryilmaz R. et al., 2019: Comparison of focused and unfocused ESWT in treatment of erectile dysfunction
Eryilmaz R, Kaplan Ş, Aslan R, Demir M, Taken K.
Department of Urology , Yuzuncu Yil University, School of Medicine , Van , Turkey. Department of Urology , Van Educational Research Hospital , Van , Turkey.
Abstract
Recently, extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) is more commonly used in noninvasive treatment of erectile dysfunction (ED). There is no definitive treatment protocol on the use of ESWT. In this study, we aimed to compare focused and unfocused ESWT in ED. We created two groups, each including 20 patients with similar demographics. Focused ESWT is performed in one group, while unfocused ESWT is performed for the other group. Patients are assessed with IIEF-5 and EHS. Mean score of IIEF-5 was increased by 6.3 ± 3.3 (p < .05) from 9.6 ± 2.9 to 15.0 ± 5.0 in 3-month follow-up in the unfocused group. In the focused group, IIEF-5 score increased by 5.34 in average from 10.01 ± 2.5 to 15.4 ± 3.1. In conclusion, IIEF-5 score was significantly higher in the unfocused ESWT group than the focused ESWT group.
Aging Male. 2019 May 8:1-4. doi: 10.1080/13685538.2019.1610377. [Epub ahead of print]
Comments 1
“Erectile dysfunction (ED) is one of the most common disorders in male” I am always surprised to see that urologists have succeeded to define a normal aging process as a disorder. Probably there will come a time when aging will be defined as a disorder or even as a disease and whole body ESWL will be propagated: “The principal mechanism of ESWT stimulates angiogenesis by promoting regeneration, repair, and restores blood supply to the diseased body part.”
This study focusses on a different group of males: Average age: 45 years, Hypercholesterinemia in 44 %, Hypertension in 65 % and Diabetes mellitus in 54 %
The EHS score was introduced by Mulhall JP et al. (1) in 2007. It was based on the answers of 307 patients participating in a sildenafil trial on its efficacy in the treatment of erectile dysfunction. The question “How would you rate the hardness of your erection?” was classified in the Erection Hardness Score (EHS)
0: Penis does not enlarge.
1: Penis is larger but not hard.
2: Penis is hard but not hard enough for penetration.
3: Penis is hard enough for penetration but not completely hard.
4: Penis is completely hard and fully rigid.
In the present study sufficient erection for vaginal penetration was observed in 13/20 patients treated with unfocused ESWT and in 10/20 patients treated with focused ESWT.
“The mean testosterone level of the patients in our study was 12.85. None of our patients had hypogonadism. At the same time, there was no correlation between the level of testosterone and comorbidities. The decreases of reproductive health were mainly induced by aging and aging-related comorbidities then to improve the male reproductive health.”?
This may be a relevant publication but the careless editing suggests that details were not an important parameter to guarantee publication.
1 Mulhall JP et al. Validation of the erection hardness score. J Sex Med. 2007 Nov;4(6):1626-34