AUTHOR=Chen Zhengyuan , Shao Xiaoqing , He Min , Shen Ming , Gong Wei , Wang Meng , Zhang Yichao , Liu Wenjuan , Ma Zengyi , Ye Zhao , Lu Yongning , Yang Nianqin , Chen Shanwen , Hu Lydia , Li Yiming , Wang Yongfei , Zhao Yao , Zhang Zhaoyun 

TITLE=Erectile Dysfunction Is Associated With Excessive Growth Hormone Levels in Male Patients With Acromegaly

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Endocrinology

VOLUME=12

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/endocrinology/articles/10.3389/fendo.2021.633904

DOI=10.3389/fendo.2021.633904

ISSN=1664-2392

ABSTRACT=<sec><title>Objective</title><p>To determine the risk factors for erectile dysfunction (ED) in male patients with acromegaly and to prospectively investigate the short-term changes of erectile function after surgery or medical treatment.</p></sec><sec><title>Methods</title><p>Sixty-three male patients were subjected to nocturnal penile tumescence and rigidity (NPTR) test for the evaluation of erectile function. The measurement of serum nitric oxide (NO) was also performed. Twenty-seven patients were re-evaluated by NPTR after surgery or long-term somatostatin analogues (SSA) treatment.</p></sec><sec><title>Results</title><p>Twenty-two patients (34.9%) had ED. Patients with ED showed higher random GH (17.89 [10.97-44.19] μg/L <italic>vs</italic> 11.63 [4.31-28.80] μg/L, <italic>p</italic> = 0.020) and GH nadir (GHn) (10.80 [6.69-38.30] μg/L <italic>vs</italic> 8.76 [3.62-18.19] μg/L, <italic>p</italic> = 0.044) during oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). The NO levels of ED patients were lower than non-ED patients (9.15 [5.58-22.48] μmol/L <italic>vs</italic> 16.50 [12.33-31.78] μmol/L, <italic>p</italic> = 0.012). After treatment, patients who present improvement in erectile function showed lower post-GHn (0.07 [0.03-0.12] ng/ml <italic>vs</italic> 1.32 [0.09-3.60] ng/ml, <italic>p</italic> = 0.048) and post-IGF-1 index (1.03 ± 0.38 <italic>vs</italic> 1.66 ± 0.95, <italic>p</italic> = 0.049). The multivariate analysis indicated post-GHn was still associated with the improvement of erectile function after correction of other covariates (OR: 0.059, 95% CI: 0.003-1.043, <italic>p</italic> = 0.053).</p></sec><sec><title>Conclusions</title><p>Excessive GH is related to ED in male patients with acromegaly. GH normalization after treatment is beneficial for short-term erectile function recovery.</p></sec>