T. Klotz

OBJECTIVES: To determine the prevalence of Peyronie's disease, a localized connective tissue disorder of the penile tunica albuginea, the symptoms of which include palpable plaque, painful erections and curvature of the penis, in a large sample of men in Germany. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: A standardized questionnaire was sent to 8000 male inhabitants (age range 30-80 years) of the greater Cologne area (approximately 1.5 million inhabitants). Three questions about the self-diagnosis of Peyronie's disease were previously assessed for validity on 158 healthy men and 24 patients with confirmed Peyronie's disease. To optimize the response rate, the questionnaire was mailed three times to all the men. RESULTS: The response rate after the third mailing was 55.4% (4432 men): 142 men (3.2%, mean age 57.4 years, SD 13.4) reported the new appearance of a palpable plaque which, from the previous validation, was the most sensitive question and the main symptom of the disease. In men aged 30-39 years only 1.5% reported localized penile induration, compared with 3.0% in those 40-49 and 50-59 years, 4.0% in those 60-69 years and 6.5% of those > 70 years old. Newly occurring angulation was reported by 119 of the 142 men (84%) and painful erection by 66 (46.5%). The combination of the three symptoms (plaque, deviation and painful erection) was reported by 46 of the 4432 respondents (1.04%), i.e. 32% of the 142 men with penile induration; 58 of the 142 men (41%) reported erectile dysfunction. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first large cross-sectional, community-based study to examine the prevalence of Peyronie's disease. Using previously validated questions the prevalence of Peyronie's disease in the sample was 3.2%; this is much higher than indicated in previous reports. A comparably high prevalence is reported for diabetes and urolithiasis, suggesting that this 'rare' disease is more widespread than previously thought.

Cyclists often complain of genital numbness and even of impotence. The purpose of this study was to determine if perineal compression during cycling causes changes in the penile blood supply, impotence and penile numbness. Forty healthy athletic men with a mean age of 30 +/- 5.3 years took part in the study. Transcutaneous penile oxygen pressure was obtained using a device consisting of a modified Clark pO2 electrode, attached to the glans of the penis. All men were measured in a standing position before, in a seated and standing position during and in a standing position after cycling. Additionally, a detailed interview was carried out with each man. The penile blood supply--which correlates with the transcutaneous PO2 at the glans-- decreased significantly in over 70% of the test subjects during cycling in a seated position. Cycling in a standing position did not show any alteration in the penile blood supply as compared to the values measured before exercising. Numbness of the genital region was reported by 61% of the cyclists. 19% of cyclists who had a weekly training distance of more than 400 km complained of erectile dysfunction. The results of the present study showed that there is a deficiency in penile perfusion due to perineal arterial compression. This could be a reason for penile numbness and impotence in long-distance cyclists. Therefore, we suggest restricting the training distance, and taking sufficient pauses during the course of prolonged and vigorous bicycle riding, in order to avoid penile numbness and impotence.