Impotence related to age may improve over time
Saturday January 20, 2007
Researchers predict that one third of older men suffering from erectile dysfunction will feel improvement, which does not mean, however, that the symptoms will disappear – they will be less acute.
At the same time, however, one third will feel that their condition has worsened.
In the Journal of Urology we can find information that erectile dysfunction, or impotence, may affect even more than 150 million of men. Erectile dysfunction has been a topical issue over the last few years, because of its prevalence and new ways of treatment, for example Viagra. There is, however, little knowledge concerning the development of the illness after onset.
In Massachusetts Male Ageing Study, data for 401 men with different degrees of impotence, aged between 40 and 70, were collected for 9 years.
According to Dr Thomas G. Travison from New England Research Institutes in Watertown, Massachusetts, the analysis of the data revealed a surprisingly high percentage of men who experienced natural remission of erectile dysfunction.
The improvement concerned 141 men, which constitutes 35 per cent.
Disappointingly, the symptoms worsened in 107 men, which constitute 33 per cent. The situation of 45 of 78 men (58 per cent) with complete erectile dysfunction did not alter.
It was noticed that the older and heavier the men, the smaller chance of natural remission.
Smoking and poor general condition were also the causes of worsening of impotence.
The gist of the research, according to Dr Travison, is the confirmation of the fact that keeping fit, being healthy and active, helps maintain, or sometimes even improve, male sexual abilities.