Eurycoma Longifolia as a potential adoptogen of male sexual health: a systematic review on clinical studies / 中国天然药物

Eurycoma longifolia (EL) has been well recognized as a booster of male sexual health. Over the past few decades, numerous in vivo animal studies and human clinical trials have been conducted across the globe to explore the promising role of EL in managing various male sexual disorders, which include erectile dysfunction, male infertility, low libido, and downregulated testosterone levels. The aim of the present review is to analyze and summarize the literature on human clinical trials which revealed the clinical significance and therapeutic feasibility of EL in improving male sexual health. This systematic review is focused on the following databases: Medline, Wiley Online Library, BioMed Central, Hindawi, Web of Knowledge, PubMed Central and Google Scholar, using search terms such as "Eurycoma longifolia", "EL", "Tongkat Ali", "male sexual health", "sexual infertility", "erectile dysfunction", "male libido", and "testosterone levels". Notably, only human clinical studies published between 2000 and 2014 were selected and thoroughly reviewed for relevant citations. Out of 150 articles, 11 met the inclusion criteria. The majority of articles included were randomized placebo-controlled trials, multiple cohort studies, or pilot trials. All these studies demonstrated considerable effects of EL on male sexual health disorders. Among them, 7 studies revealed remarkable association between the use of EL and the efficacy in the treatment of male sexual disorders, and remaining 4 studies failed to demonstrate sufficient effects on male sexual health. In summary, there is convincing evidence for the prominence of EL in improving the male sexual health. The review also substantiates the use of current methodology in the development of novel and more rationale natural herbal medicines for the management of male sexual disorders.

The Association of Lyme Disease With Loss of Sexual Libido and the Role of Urinary Bladder Detrusor Dysfunction / 대한배뇨장애요실금학회지

PURPOSE: The primary aim was to carry out a pilot study to compare the loss of sexual libido between a group of Lyme disease patients and a group of matched controls. The secondary aim was to evaluate whether loss of libido in Lyme disease patients is associated with urinary bladder detrusor dysfunction. METHODS: A group of 16 serologically positive Lyme disease patients and 18 controls were queried directly about loss of libido. RESULTS: The 2 groups were matched with respect to age, sex, body mass index, and mean arterial blood pressure. None of the 34 subjects was taking medication that might affect sexual libido or had undergone a previous operative procedure involving the genitourinary tract. Of the 16 Lyme disease patients, 8 (50%) had no loss of libido, and of the 18 controls, none had loss of libido (P<0.001). In the Lyme disease patient group, there was no statistically significant relationship between loss of libido and urinary bladder detrusor dysfunction (P=0.61). CONCLUSIONS: This pilot study suggested an association between Lyme disease and loss of libido. Moreover, this loss of libido did not seem to be associated with urinary bladder detrusor dysfunction. Given these results, we recommend further studies to confirm the association.