Nitric oxide and penile erection: Is erectile dysfunction another manifestation of vascular disease?

There is convincing evidence that the prevalence of erectile dysfunction is increased among men with ischaemic heart disease. This association may be attributed to the fact that both erectile dysfunction and ischaemic heart d isease share similar risk factors (e.g. hypertension, dyslipidaemia, diabet es and smoking). Nitric oxide (NO) activity is adversely affected, in penil e and vascular tissue,by these risk factors. It is therefore not surprising that a defect in NO activity is thought to play a role in the Dathogenesis of both erectile dysfunction and ischaemic heart disease. We consider this evidence and propose that defective NO activity provides a unifying explan ation for the association between these two conditions. Further research in this area may improve our understanding of the pathogenesis of cardiovascu lar diseases as a whole. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved .