San Diego Sexual Medicine at Alvarado Hospital, led by physician Irwin Goldstein, attempts to improve sexual health through the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of conditions or diseases that involve sexual function.
Current areas of research and exploration include:
Bicycle Riding: Cardiovascular exercise such as jogging, racket ball, running, swimming and tennis has been associated with decreased prevalence of erectile dysfunction. While bicycle riding is a form of cardiovascular exercise, bicycle riding is associated with an increased prevalence of erectile dysfunction.
Diabetes: Diabetes mellitus and metabolic syndrome are common health problems in our society. Men who have these conditions often have associated vascular, neurologic, hormonal and psychologic issues. Sexual health problems such as reduced interest, erectile function, ejaculation and orgasm intensity are reported far more frequently in men with diabetes and metabolic syndrome than in men without these conditions.
Birth Control: Over 100 million women worldwide have used oral contraceptives since 1945. There are multiple benefits associated with their use besides being a highly effective, totally reversible contraceptive agent.
Ethinyl estradiol-based contraception use is reported to be associated with sexual side effects, including diminished sexual interest, decreased frequency of sexual intercourse, diminished vaginal lubrication, decreased sexual arousal, and increased pain during intercourse. Women who started using oral contraceptives before age 17 have a higher risk of having dyspareunia compared to women who have never used oral contraceptive pills.
Cancer: There are many cancers, such as prostate, colon and testicular cancer, associated with effective therapies such as radiation, surgery, chemotherapy and hormonal ablation therapy that result in long-term survival. As such, quality of life after cancer treatment can be an important issue for some men and their partners.
In an ideal situation discussion of the sexual consequences of cancer treatment occurs before the treatment. If the patient has choices of treatment, the knowledge may either influence his choice or help prepare him for the consequences of the treatment.