Serum Irisin Level as a Marker of Erectile Dysfunction

Background: Erectile dysfunction (ED) is characterised by a persistent or recurring inability to achieve and/or sustain an erection adequate for sexual pleasure. Objectives: This study aimed to measure serum irisin levels in ED individuals comparing with those in healthy controls, and to identify whether it can be correlated with the ED severity. Methods: This prospective case-control work had been performed on 50 male participants with ED, aged from 20 to 50 years old, with ED, and BMI between 18.5 – 24.9 kg/m2 (ED group) and 25 healthy individuals as control (Control group). Each subject was exposed topharmacopenile colour Doppler ultrasound, biochemical blood tests, lipid profile, and hormonal analysis. Assessing serum irisin by ELISA and being contrasted with the control group. Results: There was a significantly decreased level of serum irisin in ED group contrasted to the control group. There was a significant negative association among the level of irisin in serum and age, BMI, duration of ED, glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) and fasting blood glucose (FBG). While, there was a significant positive association among the level of irisin in serum with mean peak systolic velocity andinternational index of erectile function (IIEF-5) scores. Irisin level demonstrated an excellent validity for discrimination between ED group and control group with higher sensitivity and specificity. Conclusions: Low serum irisin level could be deemed as a risk factor for developing ED especially in type 2 DM (T2DM) making screening of irisin level in diabetic patient to be an investigation that can be added to the work up for patients with T2DM.