The Link Between Parkinson’s and ED
Erectile dysfunction is a condition in which a man is not able to get or maintain an erection. It can have many causes, including physical and emotional, and one of these causes could be Parkinson’s. Learn about the link between these two conditions.
What Is Parkinson’s Disease?
Parkinson’s disease is an age-related degenerative brain condition best known for leading to balance problems, slowed movement, and tremors.
The condition causes a specific area in the brain, called the basal ganglia, to deteriorate. It also upsets the balance of your brain chemicals, especially dopamine. If you don’t have enough dopamine, you can’t move as well as you otherwise would, leading to the unsteady gait and jerky motions common to Parkinson’s disease.
How Parkinson’s Disease Impacts Sexual Function
Parkinson’s disease affects your autonomic nervous system. It causes dopamine-producing cells to die because it damages neurons in the brain’s substantia nigra. Without the right levels of dopamine, you have trouble coordinating muscle movement, which is essential for sexual function.
Parkinson’s disease can cause depression and anxiety, which also affect sexual function. People who treat these mental health concerns with medications can experience erectile dysfunction as well.
Antidepressants like selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) increase serotonin levels in the body. This increase leads to feelings of calmness, which, in turn, decreases sexual drive.
For people struggling with ED and Parkinson’s disease, many times, talk therapy, along with other strategies, works well to treat sexual dysfunction.
Managing Parkinson’s Disease and Its Effects
If you have Parkinson’s disease, you can take advantage of a variety of treatments to make living with the condition more manageable. One option is regenerative medicine. By turning to stem cell therapy and other similar options, you have the chance to not just treat symptoms but slow down the progression of the disease. This post was written by a medical professional at Stemedix Inc. At Stemedix we provide access to Regenerative Medicine for hair, also Stem cell treatment for Parkinson’s. Regenerative medicine has the natural potential to help improve symptoms sometimes lost from the progression of many conditions.
