Is there a relationship between penile vasculogenic erectile dysfunction, platelet functions and eosinophil count?

Purpose: Blood count parameters of patients referring with penile vasculogenic erectile dysfunction (ED) were examined in this study. It was investigated whether eosinophil count (EC), platelet count (PC) and mean platelet volume (MPV), values among the suspected predictive parameters which may affect vascular functions, have a contribution on ED pathology or not. Materials and methods: Patients referring erectile dysfunction complaint were evaluated. Depending on the medical story, ED degree was determined by measuring International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF). Values such as hormones, complete blood count and other laboratory markers were examined. Penile doppler ultrasonography (PDU) was performed in patients suspected to have vasculogenic ED. According to PDU result, patients with vascular deficiency were included in the penile vasculogenic ED group and patients with normal results were included in the control group. 49 patients participated in the study from the penile vasculogenic ED group and 30 patients from the control group. Intergroup comparisons were performed using the Mann-Whitney U test and the chi-square (chi(2)) test was used to assess the relationship between categorical variables within the patient groups. Results: Low IIEF score in vasculogenic ED group compared to the control group and high EC, MPV and PC values were detected to be statistically significant (p < 0.001, p = 0.026, p = 0.009, p = 0.029, respectively). No statistically significant difference was observed among the two groups when age, white blood cells, red blood cells or hemoglobin values are considered (p = 0.332, p = 0.235, p = 0.127, p = 0.696, respectively). Conclusion: High MPV value and platelet count showing the platelet functions and high eosinophil count are important factors which may play a role in penile vasculogenic ED etiopathogenesis. (C) 2016 Asociacion Espanola de Andrologia, Medicina Sexual y Reproductiva. Published by Elsevier Espana, S.L.U. All rights reserved.