Peyronie's Disease

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How is Peyronie's disease treated?

Because Peyronie's disease is a wound-healing disorder, changes are constantly occurring in the early stages. In fact, this disease can be classified into two stages: 1) an acute inflammatory phase persisting for six to 18 months during which men experience pain, slight penile curvature and nodule formations and 2) a chronic phase during which men develop a stable plaque, significant penile curvature and erectile dysfunction.

Occasionally the condition regresses spontaneously with symptoms resolving themselves. In fact, some studies show that approximately 13 percent of patients have complete resolution of their plaques within a year. There is no change in 40 percent of cases, with progression or worsening of symptoms in 40 to 45 percent. For these reasons, most physicians recommend a non-surgical approach for the first 12 months.

Conservative approaches: Instead of requiring invasive diagnostic procedures or treatments, men who experience only small plaques, minimal penile curvature and no pain or sexual limitations, need only be reassured that the condition will not lead to malignancy or another chronic disease. Pharmaceutical agents have shown promise for early-stage disease but there are drawbacks. Because of a lack of controlled studies, scientists have yet to establish their true effectiveness. For instance:

• Oral vitamin E: It remains a popular treatment for early-stage disease because of its mild side effects and low cost. While uncontrolled studies as far back as 1948 demonstrated decreases in penile curvature and plaque size, investigation continues concerning its effectiveness.

• Potassium aminobenzoate: Recent controlled studies have shown that this B-complex substance popular in Central Europe yields some benefits. But it is somewhat expensive, requiring 24 pills each day for three to six months. It is also often associated with gastrointestinal issues, making compliance low.

• Tamoxifen: This non-steroidal, antiestrogen medication has been used in the treatment of desmoid tumors, a condition with properties similar to Peyronie's disease. Researchers claim that inflammation and the production of scar tissue are inhibited. But early-stage disease studies in England have found only marginal improvement with tamoxifen. Like other research in this area, however, these studies include few patients, and no controls, objective improvement measures or long-term follow up.

• Colchicine: Another anti-inflammatory agent that decreases collagen development, colchicine has been shown to be slightly beneficial in a few small, uncontrolled studies. Unfortunately, up to 50 percent of patients develop gastrointestinal upset and must discontinue the drug early in treatment.

Injections:: Injecting a drug directly into the penile plaque is an attractive alternative to oral medications, which do not specifically target the lesion, or invasive surgical procedures, which carry the inherent risks of general anesthesia, bleeding and infection. Intralesional injection therapies introduce drugs directly into the plaque with a small needle after appropriate anesthesia. Because they offer a minimally invasive approach, these options are popular among men with either early phase disease or who are reluctant to have surgery. Yet their effectiveness is also under investigation. For instance:

• Verapamil: Early uncontrolled studies demonstrated that this substance interferes with calcium, a factor shown by in vitro cattle connective tissue cell studies to support collagen transport. As such, intralesional verapamil reduced penile pain and curvature while improving sexual function. Other studies have concluded that it is a reasonable treatment in men with non-calcified plaques and penile angles of less than 30 degrees.

• Interferon:: The use of these naturally-occurring antiviral, antiproliferative and anti-tumorigenic glycoproteins to treat Peyronie's disease was born out of experiments demonstrating the antifibrotic effect on skin cells of two different disorders — keloids, overgrowth of collagenous scar tissue and scleroderma, a rare autoimmune disease affecting the body's connective tissue. In addition to inhibiting proliferation of fibroblast cells, interferons, such as alpha-2b, also stimulate collagenase, which breaks down collagen and scar tissue. Several uncontrolled studies have demonstrated intralesional interferon's effectiveness in reducing penile pain, curvature and plaque size while improving some sexual function. A current multi-institutional, placebo-controlled trial will hopefully answer many of the questions about intralesional therapy in the near future.

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Other investigative therapies:: The medical literature is replete with reports on less invasive methods for treating Peyronie's disease. But the effectiveness of treatments such as high-intensity focused ultrasound and radiation therapy, topical verapamil and iontophoresis, introducing soluble salt ions into the tissue via electric current, must still be investigated before these alternative therapies are considered clinically useful. Likewise, controlled studies using larger patient groups with longer follow ups are necessary to prove that the same high-energy shock waves used to break up kidney stones will have positive effects on Peyronie's disease.

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