Relevance of seminal plasma nitric oxide levels and the efficacy of SSRI treatment on lifelong premature ejaculation

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine the relevance of seminal plasma nitric oxide (NO) levels and the efficacy of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) treatment on premature ejaculation. A total of 16 men (aged 32.18 ± 3.32) with lifelong premature ejaculation [intravaginal ejaculation latency time (IELT) <1 min] and 11 healthy men (control group) were included in this study. The healthy men formed Group 1, and the patients were randomly categorised into two groups. Group 2 patients received 20 mg day(-1) of paroxetine, and Group 3 patients received 50 mg day(-1) of sertraline for 4 weeks. Baseline and post-treatment findings were compared among the three groups. Mean baseline seminal NO levels in men with premature ejaculation were significantly higher than in the healthy control group (32.24 ± 5.61 μm l(-1) versus 19.71 ± 3.50 μm l(-1) , respectively) (P < 0.001). There was no significant difference between the sertraline and paroxetine groups in terms of IIEF scores, IELT scores and NO levels. At the end of the first month, the mean IELT scores of the paroxetine and sertraline groups showed a significant improvement compared with the baseline values (P < 0.001). After treatment with paroxetine and sertraline, NO levels dec-reased from baseline. Our study indicates that premature ejaculation is significantly related with a higher level of seminal NO. Baseline seminal plasma NO values obtained in patients with premature ejaculation were significantly higher than in the healthy control group. After treatment with SSRIs, decreased seminal NO may retard ejaculation. Further studies are needed to confirm this suggestion and the role of NO in the pathophysiology and treatment of premature ejaculation.

Keywords: NO; SSRIs; paroxetine; premature ejaculation; sertraline.