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Undiagnosed prediabetes status is associated with a reduced effectiveness of phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors in men with erectile dysfunction

International Journal of Impotence Research volume 32, pages 473–474 (2020)Cite this article

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In the present study from Boeri et al., authors showed that patients with undiagnosed prediabetes mellitus (PreDM) depicted lower rates of response to Phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitors (PDE5-i) than normoglycemic men [1]. Patients completed the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF) at baseline and after 3 months of PDE5-i treatment. Treatment response was evaluated using the minimal clinically important difference (MCID), considered as a change in +2, +5, and +7 from baseline in erectile function (EF) domain scores of the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF-EF), for patients with mild, moderate, and severe baseline erectile dysfunction (ED). Overall, 253 (56.7%), 105 (23.5%), and 88 (19.7%) patients had normoglycemia (=controls), Prediabetes status (PreDM) and Diabetes mellitus (DM), respectively. Authors found that these findings suggest that even milder forms of glucose impairment are associated with a poorer PDE5-i effectiveness in men with ED.

Authors are commended for the importance of the findings in the context of the unresponsiveness to PDE5-i in patients with unreported DM. These results must certainly be contextualized as regards the link between endothelial dysfunction and ED.

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References

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EAU-YAU Men’s health working party

Marina Di Mauro, Melianthe Nicolai, Giorgio I. Russo.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Urology Section, Department of Surgery, University of Catania, Catania, Italy

    Marina Di Mauro, Giorgio I. Russo, Marina Di Mauro, Melianthe Nicolai & Giorgio I. Russo

  2. Department of Urology, Haga Hospital, Leiden, The Netherlands

    Melianthe Nicolai

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  1. Marina Di Mauro
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EAU-YAU Men’s health working party

  • Marina Di Mauro
  • , Melianthe Nicolai
  •  & Giorgio I. Russo

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Correspondence to Giorgio I. Russo.

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Di Mauro, M., Nicolai, M., Russo, G.I. et al. Undiagnosed prediabetes status is associated with a reduced effectiveness of phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors in men with erectile dysfunction. Int J Impot Res 32, 473–474 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41443-019-0205-0

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