Erection loss is a constant or recurrent problem of inability to achieve or keep erection, stable and good enough to perform sexual intercourse. Erectile dysfunction is only diagnosed when each fourth sexual intercourse ends up in failure as a result of erection loss.

Causes of erectile dysfunction may become: cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus, high blood cholesterol, arterial hypertension, excess weight, smoking, potent drugs, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, sedentary lifestyle, somatic disease and excessive mental or physical activity.

Depending on the cause, there are three forms of erectile dysfunction in the modern medicine, these are:

• organic erectile dysfunction
• psychogenic erectile dysfunction
• mixed erectile dysfunction.

Organic erectile dysfunction

The organic form of erectile dysfunction is developed as a result of chronic pathologies in male organism, including endocrine, neurological or vascular diseases. Often, organic erectile dysfunction arises not because of severe illnesses, but as a result of negative impact of potent drugs, used for their treatment.

Endocrine causes of erectile dysfunction

• Endocrine form of erectile dysfunction can arise as a result of insufficient function of sexual glands and insufficient production of male sexual hormone – testosterone.
• As a consequence of hormonal imbalance, men suffer not only from erection loss, but also experience rise of voice timbre, increase in body weight and lack of hair growth both on the face and the body.
• Another endocrine cause of erectile dysfunction can be pituitary tumor. Pituitary tumor provokes the release of prolactin hormone, the excess amount of which may cause erectile dysfunction.
• The last but not the least endocrine cause of erection loss – is diabetes type II. It was noted that men with diabetes type II suffer from erection disorders 7-12 years earlier than healthy men. Erectile dysfunction in men with diabetes mellitus is aggravated by atherosclerosis, which in turn causes poor blood inflow to the penile tissue.

Medications and erectile dysfunction

Causes of erectile dysfunction can become the regular use of medications, including:

• antiandrogen drugs (bumetanide, furosemide, hydrochlorothiazide; chlorothiazide,
  bendroflumethiazide, indapamide, metolazone, amiloride, triamterene)
• anti-ulcer drugs (omeprazole, pantoprazole, lansoprazole, rabeprazole; esomeprazole)
• antiarrhythmic drugs (verapamil, diltiazem, amiodarone, sotalol, propranolol, timolol, moricizine, phenytoin,quinidine)
• antidepressants (iproniazid, isocarboxazid, moclobemide, pirazidol, metralindol).

Neurological causes of erectile dysfunction

• Neurological risk factors of erection disorder can be such diseases as: multiple sclerosis; epilepsy; CNS diseases or brain (spinal cord) injuries; Parkinson’s disease or pelvic and perineal traumas.

Vascular causes of erectile dysfunction

One of the most common erectile dysfunction causes it is violation of the blood inflow to the penis, as a result of vascular diseases, like for instance: atherosclerosis, varicose veins, hypertension, endarteritis as well as blockage of the pelvic vessels, which arose because of injuries.

Psychogenic cause of erectile dysfunction

Erectile dysfunction can occur due to violated psycho-emotional state and anxious disorder, accompanied with:

• depressed mood
• low self-esteem
• increased fatigue
• insomnia or excessive sleepiness at daytime.

Mixed erectile dysfunction

An overwhelming majority cases of mixed erectile dysfunction – are diagnosed in men with chronic diseases of organs or body systems along with development of anxiety disorder.

The anxiety disorder is among the most common complications of chronic diseases, since many chronic diseases are almost incurable. Therefore, not only the physiological aspects of a disease affect the male health, but pathological anxiety as well.

As a matter of fact depression becomes a part of life for many men, and erectile dysfunction becomes pathological. Especially in those cases, when treatment of severe chronic states requires using of potent drugs, which main side effect is erectile dysfunction.

Mixed erectile dysfunction is harder to diagnose, since its causes are not just physiological violations, but mental disorders of the body too. Herewith, an integral part of treatment of mixed erectile dysfunction – is recovery of psycho-emotional state of a man.

However, one should note that the main cause of mixed erectile dysfunction is physiological disorders, as a rule. Thus, to completely restore the sexual function along with psychotherapeutic function, men might need to undergo drug therapy or recommended surgical treatment of ED.

Prevention of erectile dysfunction

In order to minimize the probability of erectile dysfunction, men are recommended:

• to keep balanced diet, reducing the consumption of fatty foods that contain lots of cholesterol
• to go in for sports and active lifestyle
• to lead the fullest sexual life without long-term abstinence
• to visit urologist regularly.

Erectile dysfunction treatment

Modern clinical practice presumes only two reliable, effective and safe methods of erectile dysfunction treatment – drug therapy and surgical therapy.

• Drug therapy of erectile dysfunction consists of using medications that stimulate inflow of blood to erectile tissue of the penis. Drugs for treatment of erectile dysfunction guarantee the fullest restoration of erections without regard to erectile dysfunction severity. Another significant fact is that erectile dysfunction drugs almost do not have side effects. Therefore, these drugs can be prescribed for both long-term and short-term treatment of erection disorders in men with: cardiovascular disorders; diabetes mellitus; endocrine diseases; prostate gland dysfunction; metabolic imbalance and obesity.
• Surgical therapy of erectile dysfunction is only prescribed in single cases, if erection loss is irreversible. The distinctive feature of surgical therapy is that one day after the surgery, penis remains erected within 24 hours. Surgical therapy of erectile dysfunction neither restores, nor enhances penis sensitivity to sexual stimulation. Therefore, in case erectile dysfunction is not an irreversible state, men should use medications that restore the natural mechanism of erection.

When choosing method of erectile dysfunction treatment, one must consider not only the costs, but safety of each method. Because, each of these two ED treatments has some contraindications, one should keep in mind all possible complications and potential risks, before choosing one.