According to a recent study conducted by researchers at Adnan Menderes University Medical Faculty in Turkey, neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is strongly linked with erection problems.
The study, headed by Dr. Harun Cakmak, studied 195 men. Of these men, 90 had neovascular AMD, while 105 were healthy volunteers. The mean age of the AMD men was 62 years, while the control group’s mean age was around 60. The subjects were then instructed to answer questionnaires about their erection health.
The study found that 85 men in the AMD group (94.4%) had some degree of ED, while only 68 men in the control group (64.8%) had some degree of ED.
Researchers believe the link between AMD and ED is due to the afflictions sharing similar risk factors, such as diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease. Additionally, the two conditions also share some pathologic and epidemiologic similarities. For example, the choroid- the nourishing vascular layer of the eye- and the penis have a rich vasculature, and impaired microcirculation has been found in the choroids of patients with neovascular AMD and in the penises of men with ED.
Researchers stressed that because this is the first study of it’s kind, it doesn’t prove anything definitive. They promised to explore the issue further.
Evan Hopkins is a 24 year old writer operating out of Atlanta, GA. When he isn’t writing, he enjoys reading books, drinking coffee, and folk music.