[Peyronie's disease: state of the art and future perspectives]

Peyronie's disease (PD) is characterized by the onset of a fibrous plaque within the tunica albuginea of the penile corpora cavernosa, resulting in pain and bending during the erection, which can make the intercourse difficult or impossible. Evidence from literature supports the autoimmune etiology of PD, and suggests genetic and familiar conditions, penile traumatisms and history of genital tract diseases as risk factors, even though no definitive conclusions arise about the pathogenesis of the disease. Few randomized trials demonstrated that medical therapies, such as Vitamin E, Colchicine, Potassium amminobenzoate, Tamoxifen and injection therapy with Verapamil are effective in stabilizing the acute phase of the disease. Extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) and ionophoresis cannot be considered as first line or gold standard therapies. Satisfactory results have been published about Nesbit operation in large number of cases with low-stage disease, whereas plication procedures have shown significant rates of relapse. High incidence of long-term penile retraction have been reported in high-stage disease treated with plaque incision and simple graft insertion. Malleable, soft or inflatable prostheses combined with graft implant have given the best results in terms of penile straightening and lengthening and patients' satisfaction. In conclusion, the PD etiopathogenesis hasn't been clearly understood-yet, no medical therapy is fully effective; surgery remains therefore the gold standard in case of severe deformity and/or erectile dysfunction.