Aging and Erectile Dysfunction

Erectile dysfunction (ED) has been identified as the most common sexual problem that affects mainly men older than 40 years. According to this, there is a strong evidence linking ED with a number of medical conditions and related risk factors that had been described in the literature, yet there is limited information about the specific mechanism involved in the establishment of ED among healthy older men. The purpose of this study is to review the literature and mainly focus on the basic physiologic and vascular alterations and morphologic changes related to aging and its related risk factors, summarizing the main and the latest findings in basic research of tissue remodeling process involved in ED pathophysiology. Data from the pertinent literature were examined to inform our conclusions. This article defines the morphologic and physiologic mechanisms involved in the process of aging, which play a key role in the development of sexual dysfunction. ED has been considered as a nonlife-threatening condition, but the recognition of its multiple comorbid conditions, the importance of aging process over the male sexual performance among them its relation with vascular and nitric oxide content alteration, as well as penile morphologic changes, and the fact that it is a widespread under-reported disease, have established the need of an early diagnosis and treatment of this common sexual problem within the general male population. In this case, morphologic and physiologic mechanisms that are involved in the aging process play a key role in the development of sexual dysfunction in the absence of any other clinical or medical condition.