Men's Health Journal

Background:  Erectile dysfunction (ED) is a male sexual condition that affects 10% to 25% of men globally. Identifying the underlying cause of ED in males is a critical aspect of diagnosis. For many years, the Rigiscan® devices have been utilized to distinguish between psychological and physiological erectile dysfunction. The purpose of this study was to look at the validity of an Iranian erection analyzer equipment for evaluating nocturnal penile tumescence (NPT) in ED patients referred to Shahada-e-Tajrish Hospital in 2021. Materials and Methods: Patients who were diagnosed with vascular erectile dysfunction by doppler ultrasound evaluation and intra-cavernosal injection (ICI) test were included in this study. Also, a group of sexually healthy volunteers were included in the study as a control group. After receiving written informed consent, both groups were evaluated for two nights with the NPT test with the Iranian Erection Analyzer device. The results of the two groups were collected and analyzed. Results: A total of 45 patients with erectile dysfunction and 29 sexually healthy individuals were included in the study. Both groups were hospitalized for two nights in the isolation room of the urology ward and the NPT test was performed for them. Our results showed that the NPT test performed by the Iranian Erection Analyzer device with 62% sensitivity and 100% specificity is capable of distinguishing patients with erectile dysfunction from sexually healthy men. Conclusions: Based on our results, the Iranian Erection Analyzer device is accurate enough to diagnose patients with erectile dysfunction and can be used in clinics.

Background:  Lymph Node involvement in patients with bladder cancer directly affects their prognosis after cystectomy. With the advent of various extensions for lymphadenectomy during radical cystectomy, Lymph Node Density (LND) has been introduced as a stable measure to quantify the extent of LN involvement. This study evaluates the prognostic value of LND on the survival of these patients in our center. Methods: Our historical cohort reviewed the clinical records of 165 patients who underwent cystectomy at Modarres Hospital in Tehran, Iran during 2012-2018. The presence of positive LNs, the total number of positive LN, and LN density were evaluated for their effect on Overall survival (OS) and recurrence-free survival (RFS) at 3- and 5-years post-surgery. In addition, we assessed the impact of age, gender, type of diversion, P stage, lymphovascular invasion (LVI), location of involved LNs, ureteral involvement, positive surgical margin, and the presence of carcinoma in situ on patients’ survival. Results: According to ROC curve analysis, an LND cut-off point of 10.82 was calculated to predict patients’ survival (AUC:0.70, 95%CI: 0.496-0.691). An LND >10.82 significantly increased the risk of cancer-related death. Among all study variables, LND had the most prominent effect on OS (HR:2.49, 95% CI:1.3-4.4, P=0.002). For 3- and 5-year RFS, LVI had the highest impact (HR: 2.63, 95% CI: 1.3-5.1, P=0.005 and HR: 1.96, 95% CI: 1.2-3.0, P=0.002, respectively) Conclusion: Our analysis indicates that an LND >10.82 has the highest predictive potential for OS among the pathological features of patients undergoing cystectomy.

The coronavirus was the causative agent of a global epidemic from 2019 to 2022. The viral effect on sexual health and hormonal profile plus the rate of healthy births are important issues in general health. In this review, we studied the effect of coronavirus on reproductive health using more than 70 articles to understand the interaction of the virus with the reproductive system.

High temperatures due to fever elevated ACE2 expression in both testis germ and somatic cells. Furthermore, they exhibit significantly elevated luteinizing hormone (LH) levels, but decreased testosterone, LH, and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH)/LH ratios, which may indicate the possibility of hypogonadism and/or infertility. In contrast, women diagnosed with SARS-CoV infections during the first trimester of pregnancy are at a higher risk of spontaneous miscarriages, while infections occurring during pregnancy are more likely to result in preterm delivery.

The Coronavirus can theoretically and potentially affect men’s fertility and sexual development, and possibly cause miscarriage in the first trimester of pregnancy with an unknown mechanism. The findings cannot affirm whether the hormonal alterations are due to a direct/indirect effect of the virus. Therefore, more studies are needed to answer related questions.