Impotence on the increase

A consultant urologist at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Professor E. Donkor Yeboah, has said that reported cases of erectile dysfunction, commonly known as impotence, is on the increase. He said out of every 2000 patients who call at the Out-Patients-Department of the hospital to see him, about 10 to 15 per cent present cases of erectile dysfunction "and this figure is gradually increasing".

According to him, the problem can affect all sexually active persons and that the mean age of patients is 62 years. Unfortunately, he said, some patients take "all sorts of things" in an attempt to solve their problems and only come to the hospital when they fail to get results.

He said he is aware that a large number of alcoholic beverages on the market claim to contain aphrodisiac properties but warned that alcohol have a very devastating effect on one's sexual performance. "In fact what alcohol does is to increase the desire for sex and decrease sexual performance".

He said the Mampong Centre for Research into Plant Medicine, which is an affiliate of the College of Health Sciences, has not officially notified the Korle Bu Teaching hospital about any alcoholic beverage that the centre has tested and recommended for the treatment of sexual weakness.

"If there are any herbs that can treat impotence or sexual weakness let us do proper research into them and package them well for the public rather than take advantage of people's desire for good health to sell anything to them, after all we can all become patients one day", Professor Yeboah said.

He said there are two types of erectile dysfunction, namely, psychogenic and organic, He explained that psychogenic patients may suffer from erectile dysfunction as a result of stress, anxiety or may be fed up with their partners and that they usually get erection on their own, especially in the night or early in the morning. This, he said, is relatively easier and less expensive to treat.

He said those who have organic cases do not have erection at all and their problem may be the result of diseases that affect the penis or its blood vessels or injuries to the penis. Others are nervous disorders through diseases like diabetes, hypertension, cancer of the prostrate as well as alcohol and other chemicals.

Prof Yeboah said, "in fact a lot of alcoholics are impotent because of the direct effect of alcohol on their system." He added that out of the patients who complain of impotence about 20 per cent are due to psychogenic causes; 64 per cent due to organic causes and 16 per cent due to a mixture of both.

He said about 93 per cent of patients with psychogenic cases usually respond to treatment, 82 per cent with organic cases respond to treatment while another 82 per cent with mixed cases of psychogenic and organic also respond to treatment. The urologist said there are specialists who are capable of treating all forms of erectile dysfunction and advised people with erectile problems to see a doctor, "because such problems may be the indication of serious health problems."