Association of NE, leptin, and 5-HT with electrophysiological parameters in patients with primary premature ejaculation

Objective To investigate the possible role of serum norepinephrine (NE), leptin, and 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) and their correlations with sympathetic skin response located in the penis (PSSR) in primary premature ejaculation (PPE). Methods We compared the serum level of NE, leptin, and 5-HT, intravaginal ejaculatory latency time (IELT) and the premature ejaculation diagnostic tool (PEDT) scores between 57 PPE patients and 42 healthy control men as controls, who were recruited between September 2016 and January 2019. Additionally, the amplitude and latency of PSSR were measured and compared between the two groups. Results Compared with healthy men, both leptin and NE increased significantly in PPE patients (P = .003, P = .005), while serum 5-HT remarkably decreased (P = .002). Serum leptin, NE, and 5-HT were significantly correlated with the diagnosis of PPE, PSSR amplitude, and latency. Moreover, compared with single serum indicator, NE/5-HT and leptin/5-HT had a stronger correlation with both PSSR amplitude (r = .8377, P r = .9323, P < .001, respectively) and latency (r = -.8058, P r = -.8901, P < .001, respectively). Conclusion Significant differences in leptin, NE, and 5-HT are observed between PPE patients and the controls, which supports the hypothesis of hyperactive sympathetic nerve system (SNS) in PPE. Additionally, leptin/5-HT ratio may serve as an ideal indicator for reflecting SNS activity and predicting treatment response in PPE patients in the future.