Thiol/Disulfide Homeostasis in Patients with Erectile Dysfunction

Abstract

Background Although there are no sufficient data on association between oxidative stress and erectile dysfunction (ED), numerous studies have reported that imbalance between the formation of reactive oxygen species and body's antioxidant defenses may play a role in the pathogenesis of ED. Aim The aim of this study was to determine and compare the oxidant and antioxidant status in patients with ED and healthy controls with a novel automated assay for thiol/disulphide homeostasis test. Methods Our study included 123 patients with ED and 90 healthy individuals. ED was evaluated by asking questions 1–5 and 15 of the International Index of Erectile Function form. In this study, we used Erel and Neselioglu’s thiol/disulfide homeostasis test, which is one of the novel methods that can measure both variables of the oxidative/antioxidative balance individually and collectively. Outcomes This method measured serum antioxidant (total thiol [toSH], native thiol [SH]) and oxidant (disulfide [SS]) levels. The statistical comparisons were performed between patients with ED (ED+ group) and without ED (ED− group) first and then within the ED+ group. After toSH, SH, and SS levels were determined; SS/toSH%, SS/SH%, and SH/toSH% levels were analyzed separately and compared statistically. Results We found a significant difference between ED− and ED+ groups in terms of toSH, SH, SS/toSH%, and SS/SH% ratios. SS parameters were increased in patients with ED, but there was no significant difference in terms of SS and SH/toSH% values. Clinical Implications Clarification of the factors involved in the etiology of ED such as oxidative/antioxidative balance may open new grounds in the early diagnosis and treatment of the disease. Strengths & Limitations It is a prospective, randomized clinical study with the use of a novel, reliable, and fully automated technique. The limitations of the study are use of a subjective tool such as the International Index of Erectile Function, obtaining blood samples from the peripheral vein instead of penile cavernosal tissue, and relatively small sample size. Conclusion The results of this study showed that thiol/disulfide homeostasis is altered in ED, and this imbalance may be a factor in its pathophysiology. We determined that as ED gets more severe, toSH and SH parameters decrease, whereas SS parameter increases.

The Role of NGF and Its Receptor TrKA in Patients With Erectile Dysfunction

“…Micoogullari et al reported that thiol/ disulfide homeostasis is altered also in ED, and this may be a factor in its pathophysiology. Our study, in accordance with Micoogullari, shows that the thiol levels decreased in patients with ED (25).…”

“…Some previous studies found decreased total thiol levels in patients with ED, which indicates that thiols may play a role in ED (25). However, in the literature, there were no studies on thiol levels in blood of corpus cavernosum in patients with ED and MetS.…”

Histological changes in methotrexate hepatotoxicity after boron application and evaluation of serum thiol-disulfide balance

“…In another word, thiol-disulfide homeostasis is reversible and in balance. This balance is disturbed in many illness situations (4,(25)(26)(27)(28). In our study, the decrease in native thiol level and increase in disulfide and % disulfide/ native thiol levels in MTX administired groups show that thiol-disulfide balance deteriorates in favor of oxidation (Table , Figure 3).…”