Presenter/Author:

Chun Chuen Leung (1)

Other Author:

Shi Ping Zhang(2)

Author Affiliation:

1 Lecturer, School of Health and Nursing , Hong Kong Metropolitan University
2 Associate Professor, School of Chinese Medicine, Hong Kong Baptist University.

Keywords:

Erectile Dysfunction；Impotence；Traditional Chinese Medicine；Kidney Deficiency

Abstract:

Erectile dysfunction (ED) is a common condition after COVID-19. Based on thousands of years of clinical observations, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has previous classified the pathophysiological process and TCM pattern of ED in to several common categories, including Kidney Yang Deficiency (命門火衰), Kidney Yin Deficiency (腎陰虧虛), Spleen and Heart Deficiency (心脾兩虛), Stagnation of Liver Qi (肝氣鬱結), Stagnation of the Sperm Sac (瘀阻精室), and Downward Draining of Damp Heat (濕熱下注), etc. Since COVID-19 is a new diseases, the pathophysiology of post COVID induced ED from a Western medicine perspective must also be taken into account, so as to formulate better TCM treatment strategies. It is known that endothelial dysfunction is associated with COVID-19, which can cause ED [1,2].

Furthermore, previous studies have shown that that COVID-induced ED is not related to other risk factors such as hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and other cardiovascular diseases, or days of hospitalization caused by COVID-19. It is suggested that COVID-induced ED is associated with myriad of changes following COVID-19, such as psychological disorders, hormone deficiency, insufficient blood supply of the penis, nervous system disorder, or COVID medication. By considering the pathophysiological changes from both TCM and Western medicine perspectives, this paper will discuss the possible roles of TCM treatment modalities, including herbal formulae, TCM dietary supplements, acupuncture treatments, and Qigong, in targeting specific pathophysiological changes of post COVID-induced ED.

Reference:

Kresch, E., Achua, J., Saltzman, R., Khodamoradi, K., Arora, H., Ibrahim, E., Kryvenko, O. N., Almeida, V. W., Firdaus, F., Hare, J. M., & Ramasamy, R. (2021). COVID-19 Endothelial Dysfunction Can Cause Erectile Dysfunction: Histopathological, Immunohistochemical, and Ultrastructural Study of the Human Penis. The world journal of men's health, 39(3), 466–469. https://doi.org/10.5534/wjmh.210055
Sansone, A., Mollaioli, D., Limoncin, E., Ciocca, G., Bắc, N. H., Cao, T. N., Hou, G., Yuan, J., Zitzmann, M., Giraldi, A., & Jannini, E. A. (2022). The Sexual Long COVID (SLC): Erectile Dysfunction as a Biomarker of Systemic Complications for COVID-19 Long Haulers. Sexual medicine reviews, 10(2), 271–285. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sxmr.2021.11.001

Funding Source:

N/A

Conflict of Interests:

The author reports no conflicts of interest related to this study.