CARDIAC AUTONOMIC NERVOUS ACTIVITY IN SLEEP-RELATED PAINFUL ERECTIONS

Sleep-related painful erections (SRPE) are characterized by penile pai n that occurs during erections, typically during REM sleep. Afflicted individuals usually have normal erections during wakefulness. The diso rder could be related to an altered autonomic function only during sle ep. The aim of this study was to evaluate tonic and phasic heart rate (HR) modifications during sleep in 10 SRPE patients compared to 25 age -matched controls. A reduced cardiac vagal activity during sleep, as w ell as a trend towards a higher HR acceleration in relation to spontan eous body movements, have been found in SRPE patients. The possible be ta-adrenergic hyperactivity during sleep in these patients could expla in the reported efficacy of a beta-blocker, such as propranolol, in th is disorder.