RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS Nature Reviews Urology advance online publication 23 December 2014; doi:10.1038/nrurol.2014.354

SEXUAL DYSFUNCTION

Shock treatment for erectile dysfunction Low-energy shockwave therapy has demonstrated positive outcomes and good safety and efficacy profiles for men with erectile dysfunction (ED), new research published in the International Journal of Impotence Research has shown. Reisman and colleagues assessed the performance of the Renova device (Direx Group, Weisbaden, Germany) in 58 men aged between 36 and 84 years (mean 56.75 years) with ED. The study consisted of a screening and treatment phase and a follow-up period of 6 months. Low-intensity shockwaves have previously been evaluated for the treatment of ED, but the Renova device is the first shockwave system dedicated to the treatment of this disorder. Focussing of shockwaves is achieved through the use of linear shockwave therapy and the shape of the of the transducer enables effective positioning of the instrument. Patients received 4 weeks of therapy, with each treatment session consisting of shocks applied to the penile shaft at the right and

left corpora cavernosa and the crura. 900 shocks at 0.09 mJ/mm2 were administered to each area, giving a total of 3,600 shocks per session and 3,600 shocks per area across the four treatment sessions. Patients did not use phophodiesterase type 5 inhibitors (PDE5-i) in the 3 weeks before treatment. Treatment succeeded in 47 patients (80%) and the average increase in International Index of Erectile Function– Erectile Function Domain score was 9 points. No adverse effects were reported and four patients stopped taking PDE5-i during the follow-up period as they were no longer needed. Large multicentre, longterm randomized studies are required to validate the positive outcomes of this smallscale study and identify patients for whom this treatment will be effective. Louise Stone Original article Reisman, Y. et al. Initial experience with linear focused shockwave treatment for erectile dysfunction: a 6-month follow-up pilot study. Int. J. Impot. Res. doi:10.1038/ijir.2014.41

NATURE REVIEWS | UROLOGY

ADVANCE ONLINE PUBLICATION © 2014 Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved

Sexual dysfunction: Shock treatment for erectile dysfunction.

Sexual dysfunction: Shock treatment for erectile dysfunction. - PDF Download Free
532KB Sizes 3 Downloads 13 Views