The role of the sympathetic adrenergic nerves in mediating the constant tone of @entity546 and returning the erect penis to its flaccid state is fairly well established. However, it is not yet known whether additional nonadrenergic transmitters are involved in this process. The peptide endothelin-l ( @entity2232 ) may be one of the factors contributing to such a control. Moreover, it has been speculated that @entity2232 might be involved in the pathophysiology of penile erection. The present study was undertaken to determine whether or not there is a difference in the courses of @entity36625 plasma levels recorded in systemic and cavernosal blood taken from healthy males and @entity1 with @entity323 ( @entity323 ) during different penile conditions (flaccidity, tumescence/ @entity2003 , detumescence). The study groups comprised 33 healthy adult males and 25 @entity1 . The subjects were exposed to visual and tactile erotic stimuli in order to elicit penile tumescence and, in the group of healthy volunteers, @entity2003 . Whole blood was aspirated from the corpus cavernosum and the cubital vein, and @entity36625 was determined in plasma aliquots by means of an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Mean systemic and cavernosal plasma levels of @entity36625 in blood samples obtained from the volunteers was 0.2-0.7 fmol/ml. In the healthy males, no changes in @entity36625 levels were observed in the systemic and cavernosal blood during penile tumescence, @entity2003 and detumescence. In the @entity1 , mean plasma @entity36625 levels during @entity546 and detumescence were found to be higher in the systemic circulation than in the cavernosal blood (flaccidity 0.52 +/- 0.38 fmol/ml vs 0.48 +/- 0.46 fmol/ml, respectively: detumescence 0.53 +/- 0.33 fmol/ml vs 0.27 +/- 0.11 fmol/ ml, respectively). No differences in the plasma courses of @entity36625 were found between @entity1 with an organogenic and those with a psychogenic aetiology of @entity323 . During detumescence, the mean @entity36625 level was lower in the cavernosal blood taken from the @entity1 than in the samples obtained from the healthy males. Our study revealed a difference in the profiles of ET-l/-2 in the cavernosal blood of healthy subjects and @entity1 with @entity323 . Nevertheless, since this difference seemed to be of no physiological significance, our findings contradict the hypothesis of the ultimate importance of @entity2232 in the control of @entity546 and detumescence and do not support speculations regarding the involvement of @entity2232 in the pathophysiology of @entity323 .

Systemic and cavernosal plasma levels of endothelin (1-21) during different penile conditions in healthy males and @entity1 with XXXX .

@entity1 :: ('9606', 'Species') :: ['patients'] @entity323 :: ('MESH:D007172', 'Disease') :: ['erectile dysfunction', 'ED'] @entity2003 :: ('MESH:D009127', 'Disease') :: ['rigidity'] @entity2232 :: ('1906', 'Gene') :: ['ET-1'] @entity36625 :: ('1906;1907', 'Gene') :: ['ET-1/-2', 'ET- 1/-2'] @entity546 :: ('MESH:D004414', 'Disease') :: ['penile flaccidity']
@entity323 :: (MESH:D007172,Disease) :: ['erectile dysfunction']
