Non-pharmacological interventions for the treatment of erectile dysfunction in adult men: systematic review

Objective. To review current evidence on the non-pharmacological (non-invasive) treatment of erectile dysfunction (ED). Method. We performed a systematic review of research articles that included adult men diagnosed with ED who had undergone some type of non-pharmacological and non-surgical intervention for this disorder. Free-access, complete texts with an available summary published between 2000 and 2006 were sought. Studies not published in English were excluded. Results. A total for 124 articles were found, and after critical analysis only 8 matched the inclusion criteria (of the 8 articles, 2 were classified as showing quality criterion 1-B and none met the criterion for 1-A). Four types of non-pharmacological, non-surgical therapy were found, which could reverse or improve ED in patients with organic, psychological or mixed impairment and could be applied by nurses. Among these therapies were lifestyle changes (losing weight, pelvic musculature strengthening, psychotherapy and/or psychoeducation and the use of Internet and/ or other multimedia devices. Conclusions. Alternative therapies are available for men with ED. These therapies help to improve or reverse ED and guarantee satisfactory and lasting results. Nevertheless, we stress that our aim is not to compete with invasive and non-invasive therapies but rather to provide a greater number of treatment alternatives. The low quality of studies could be attributed to the lack of economic resources and the fact that ED is still an emerging subject in current medicine.