A key role for nitric oxide (NO) in penile erection is well established, but the relative roles of the neuronal NO synthase (nNOS) versus endothelial forms of NOS are not clear. nNOS- and endothelial NOS-deficient mice maintain erectile function and reproductive capacity, questioning the importance of NO. Alternatively, residual NO produced by shorter transcripts in the nNOS(-/-) animals might ...

Apomorphine, a nonselective dopamine receptor agonist, facilitates penile erection and is effective in patients suffering from erectile dysfunction. The specific dopamine receptor subtype(s) responsible for its erectogenic effect is not known. Here we report that the dopamine D(4) receptor plays a role in the regulation of penile function. ABT-724 is a selective dopamine D(4) receptor agonist t...

INTRODUCTION Intracavernous alprostadil injection (IAI) is widely used for sexual rehabilitation (SR) after radical prostatectomy (RP). However, the rate of spontaneous erection recovery with IAI remains unclear, and IAI causes pain that may hinder SR. AIMS To assess SR in IAI users after RP and to evaluate the course and impact on SR of postinjection penile pain. METHODS We prospectively s...

OBJECTIVE To investigate the effect of chronic use of sildenafil and intracavernous injection (ICI) with trimix in men not responding to on-demand monotherapy with sildenafil or ICI with prostaglandin-E1 (PGE1). PATIENTS AND METHODS The study included 40 patients with erectile dysfunction (ED), with a mean (SD) age of 50.7 (11.3) years and unresponsive to on-demand sildenafil or ICI with PGE1...

INTRODUCTION Penile fracture is an uncommon urologic emergency, and is the traumatic rupture of the tunica albuginea covering the corpus cavernosa. This usually occurs following blunt trauma sustained during coitus, masturbation or self-manipulations to hide or suppress an erection. Clinical diagnosis can often be easily made with typical history and examination findings. However, the patient m...

Erectile dysfunction (ED) or impotence is estimated to affect around 20-30 million men in the United States (Rhoden et al, 2002). Vascular etiology is purported to be the most prevalent cause of ED in the elderly population, with venogenic ED being the most common subtype (Shafik et al, 2007; Rebonato et al, 2014). A patient, who developed severe venogenic ED, was referred to interventional rad...

In contrast to the spinal control of erection, relatively little is known about the brain control. In the present review, we have outlined the role of brain structures involved in penile erection and provided a synopsis on the brain circuit of erection. Findings from both animal and human studies are discussed. Evidence suggests that the most important structures are the frontal lobe, cingulate...

Rapid eye movement sleep in males is characterized by penile erection along with EEG desynchronization, muscle atonia, ponto-geniculo-occipital waves, and rapid eye movements (REM). The central neural mechanisms regulating sleep related erections (SREs) are not known. Recently, the lateral preoptic area has been shown to contribute in sleep-related erectile mechanisms. The present study was con...

INTRODUCTION Penile fracture is defined as blunt trauma resulting in a tear of tunica albuginea surrounding the corpus cavernosum and rapidly expanding hematoma during erection. Concomitant penile fracture with urethral rupture has been reported from 10% to 20% in all penile fracture cases. However, isolated urethral injury during sexual inter courseis extremely rare. In females, intercourse-re...

As you know, for penile erection, a sufficient amount of testosterone-induced nitric oxide is needed in the smooth muscle of the penile arterial wall. With aging, LOH syndrome and so on, the serum testosterone level decreases, resulting in a decline of penile erectile function. Furthermore, it is known that the enzyme PDE5 in the penile artery wall also inhibits that function. Even so, it may b...