Arterial erectile dysfunction is an early sign of vascular damage: the importance for the prevention of cardiovascular health

The article by Nakahara and colleagues (1), entitled “¹⁸F-Fluoride Positron Emission Tomographic Imaging of Penile Arteries and Erectile Dysfunction” focus on the role of fluorine-18 sodium fluoride (NaF) positron emission tomography (PET) of penile arteries in patients with erectile dysfunction (ED). In particular, NaF is known to localize in areas of active microcalcification in atherosclerosis plaques. In a cohort of 437 prostate cancer patients undergone to NaF-PET for detection of bone-metastasis, the authors found a higher NaF uptake in penile vessels of patients with ED compared to potent ones, suggesting that atherosclerosis is associated with ED in prostate cancer patients (1).