Sexual Health
Why do elderly people experience organic erectile dysfunction? What is the direct cause of organic impotence
In addition to a significant decrease in sexual activity, the quality of sexual life (sexual interest) of the elderly is also significantly reduced. The causes of sexual dysfunction include physiological and psychological factors, impotence, functional impotence, and organic impotence. Organic impotence can be divided into direct and indirect causes.
The direct cause of organic impotence:
① The secretion level of sex hormones in the sexual organs decreases: Human sex hormone levels directly affect sexual desire and function, and plasma testosterone levels decrease with age.
② Vascular obstructive disease: because the elderly are prone to atherosclerosis, such as atherosclerosis involving the dorsal penile artery and the deep penile artery, which will lead to ischemia and hypoxia, intimal hyperplasia, fibrosis or calcification, lumen stenosis will aggravate vascular embolic disease, and penile sponge will shrink.
③ Venous drainage disorder: Due to excessive venous drainage of the corpus cavernosum, such as congenital or iatrogenic fistula between the corpus cavernosum and the glans penis, white membrane venous malformations cannot maintain penile erection.
④ Arteriovenous fistula: Due to a short circuit in the genital blood vessels, the cavernous sinus of the penis cannot be filled, leading to organic impotence.
The indirect causes of organic erectile dysfunction include:
① Diabetes: The incidence rate of impotence in diabetes patients is 2-5 times higher than that in normal people. According to statistics, nearly 60% of diabetes patients have impotence, but their clinical manifestations are different. The exact reason is not yet clear and is generally believed to be related to the following reasons. After the occurrence of diabetes, the autonomic nerve fibers may swell and burst, and the air foam and the diameter of the axon may change. Neuropathology also found that the blood vessels supplying autonomic nerves in diabetes patients had pathological changes, which affected the nutrition supply of nerves. Therefore, a decrease in neural reflex function leads to impotence.
② Cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases: In recent years, the incidence rate of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases has increased significantly, and the risk factors leading to cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases mainly include hyperlipidemia, diabetes and hypertension. These diseases are closely related to people's poor lifestyle, such as consuming too much fat, not liking exercise, smoking heavily, drinking excessively, and long-term mental stress. These factors are considered the greatest risk factors for coronary heart disease. Patients with coronary heart disease, firstly, have psychological factors and believe that life and sexual activity cannot be discussed naturally, leading to erectile dysfunction over time; Second, these risk factors will damage the whole body's blood vessels, vascular endothelial cell proliferation, lipid deposition, plaque rupture, platelet aggregation, atherosclerosis, lumen stenosis, insufficient blood supply of the yin artery, and impotence.