Did you know that the peripheral neuropathy (numbness and pain in hands and feet) experienced from Diabetes may be the cause of your Erectile Dysfunction? A new study shows that people with peripheral neuropathy were more likely to suffer from ED. The good news is that it is reversible if you take steps to take better care of yourself and improve your health.  Here are some helpful steps to improved health:

1. Eat a low glycemic index diet

2. Exercise 20 minutes at least 3x per week

3. Consider supplementing with an anti-oxidant

See abstract below:

November 16, 2024 — Erectile dysfunction (ED) has traditionally been associated with vascular problems, but a new study published in the December print issue of BJU International reveals that men with severe peripheral neuropathy frequently report ED, as well as failure with phosphodiesterase type-5 inhibitors.

"To our knowledge, this is the first study to assess the whole peripheral nerve fibre spectrum in a non-selected group of patients with erectile dysfunction," said the study's lead author, Consuelo Valle Antuña, MD, from the Department of Neurophysiology at the Hospital Universitario Central de Asturias in Oviedo, Spain, in a press release. "Our findings underline the importance of clinicians carrying out neurophysiological tests on patients with ED, particularly in the pelvic area."

Neurophysiologic Results and Symptom Scores

Ninety men, consecutively recruited from the Department of Urology, Central Hospital of Asturias, participated in the study. The average age of the patients was 54 years, with 10% of the men being younger than 40 years and 2.2% older than 70 years. Cardiovascular disease was diagnosed in 30%, neurogenic findings in 16%, diabetes in 15.9%, and psychopathology in 7.3% of the participants; no risk factors were identified in 11.1%.

Patients underwent a battery of neurophysiological tests and filled out the 5-item version of the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF) and the Neuropathy Symptom Score (NSS). Patients scoring poorly on the NSS also scored more poorly on the IIEF (P = .015), and they needed ED therapies (eg, prostaglandin, penile prostheses) that were more aggressive than oral type-5 phosphodiesterase inhibitors (P = .0001).

Pelvic floor electromyography revealed signs of chronic axonotmesis in 48% of the participants, and was bilateral in 20%. Polyneuropathy was identified in approximately 38% of the patients. Nine percent of the patients had small fiber neuropathy or damage to the small unmyelinated peripheral nerve fibers, and 14.4% had pudendal neuropathy, involving the somatic nerve in the pelvic region. Sympathetic skin response tests revealed far more response alterations in the penis than the hand or foot. Chronic axonotmesis was associated with NSS scores (P = .0038), but there was no link between neurophysiological findings and the IIEF.

The authors conclude that "up to now, the impact of peripheral neuropathy on the pathogenesis of ED has been underestimated.... Day-to-day clinical practice should, in future, optimize the assessment of pelvic small fibre function."

The authors have disclosed no relevant financial relationships.

BJU Int. 2024;108:1855-1859. Published online May 18, 2024. Abstract