[Recent diagnostic and therapeutic aspects in male sexual impotence]

Male sexual impotence is the symptom of an alteration of central and peripheral mechanism neuropsychoendocrine, vascular and neurological. Nowadays it affects 8-10% of sexually active population. In some diseases, like diabetes and uremia, it can reach very high percentages of incidence. At our Andrology Center 35% of referrals are represented by sexual complaints. In the last years the diagnostic accuracy has increased, narrowing the percentage of unknown causes. Vasculopathy represents the most relevant pathological condition associated with impotence: it can affect both arterial and venous vessels. The new medical technologies and procedures permit an increase of the life span but often affecting the quality of life. Therefore, the iatrogenic causes of impotence, both pharmacological and surgical, are growing. A modern diagnostic approach starts with an accurate clinical history and physical examination, followed by an NPT (nocturnal penile tumescence) test and/or ICI (intracavernosal injection) with a standard dose of PGE1 and Doppler flowmetry of penile arteries. An endocrine evaluation (LH, testosterone and prolactin) is also performed. Further investigation of a vascular dysfunction is represented by more invasive procedures, like arteriography, cavernosography and cavernosometry. A suspect of neurological disease is confirmed by sacral evoked potentials. According to the findings of these examinations, a correct therapeutical approach can be applied in 100% of cases. An endocrine treatment is adequate only when a clear reduction of T plasma level or hyperprolactinemia are present. The treatment of other central disorders causing psychoneuroendocrine impotence is promising, but still under investigation. The intracavernosal injection of vasoactive drugs, apart from having revolutionized the diagnostic approach to the impotent patient, represents a clear standpoint in medical management of impotence, particularly in vascular and neurological diseases. The great advancement in the technology of penile prostheses has allowed the development of valuable and reliable tools to be used in selected cases.