Resumen

CASTELO ELIAS-CALLES, Lizet  y  LICEA PUIG, Manuel E.. Sexual erectile dysfunction and diabetes mellitus: Etiopathogenic aspects. Rev Cubana Endocrinol [online]. 2003, vol.14, n.2. ISSN 1561-2953.

Sexual erectile dysfunction is defined as the inability of man to reach and/or keep adequate erection to achieve satisfactory sexual activity. The frequency of sexual erectile dysfunction (SED) is significantly higher in the diabetic population when compared to general population. The objective of this paper is to make a literature review on this topic and diabetes mellitus that includes the following aspects: penis anatomy, clinical and physiological aspects and pathogenic mechanisms. Different studies point out that prevalence of SED in persons suffering from diabetes mellitus ranges from 20 to 80 %, although this prevalence varies with the age of the patients. The prevalence of SED in subjects aged 20 to 19 years is 9% but increases up to 90 % in those who arrive at 70 years. SED is classified according to its causes into three groups: 1) organic, 2) psychogenic and 3) combined. Among the most relevant pathogenic factors we may find the neurological, the vascular and the muscular factors. Relaxation of smooth muscle of cavernous bodies and erection of penis depend on a complex balance of intracellular events and extracellular signals that control contraction and relaxation of the cavernous body smooth muscular cell tone. Hemodynamic and electrophysiological measurements allow evaluating in an accurate way the sexual function. The therapeutic management demands the strict control of glycemic values. SED is a frequent complication in persons with diabetes mellitus. The etiology of this dysfunction is generally due to multiple causes. It is required to carry out clinical and epidemiological studies in a representative sample of the population to accurately find out the size of the problem. The early detection and adequate treatment of sexual erectile dysfunction will determine a significant improvement of the quality of life of the affected persons.

Palabras clave : SEXUAL DYSFUNCTION; DIABETES MELLITUS; DIABETIC NEUROPATHY.