Plasma transforming growth factor-β₁ levels in patients with erectile dysfunction

Aim: To evaluate the plasma TGF-β₁ level in erectile dysfunction (ED) patients of various causes. Methods: Sixty-two patients with ED and 26 potent men were subjected to the study. Based on multidisciplinary work-ups, including medical history, physical examinations, blood tests with lipid profile and hormones, penile duplex Doppler ultrasonogram and neurophysiological tests, causes for ED were classified as psychogenic (n=15), neurogenic (n=16) and vasculogenic (n=31). The plasma TGF-β₁ level was measured by the ELISA method. Results: The plasma TGF-β₁ level was significantly increased in the ED group (6.7 ± 4.9 ng/mL), compared to the control (4.0 ± 2.1 ng/mL) (P <0.01). In the ED groups, there was a significant increase in the vasculogenic group (9.0 ± 5.5 ng/mL), compared to the psychogenic (3.8 ± 1.8 ng/mL) and neurogenic groups (4.8 ± 3.2 ng/mL) (P<0.01). Of the vascular risk factors, both the smoking (7.5 ± 4.7 ng/mL) and dyslipidemia groups (7.4 ± 4.4 ng/mL) showed significantly increased plasma TGF-β₁ levels, compared to the non-smokers (5.5 ± 2.8 ng/mL), and those without dyslipidemia (4.8 ± 2.8 ng/mL) (P<0.05). Conclusion: Vascular risk factors are associated with an elevated plasma TGF-β₁ level, which may contribute to cavernous fibrosis and ED.