The Relationship between Erectile Dysfunction and Macular and Radial Peripapillary Microvascular Densities in Behçet's Patients without Ocular Involvement

Aim: To compare the vascular densities (VDs) of macular microvascular (MMV) and radial peripapillary
capillaries (RPC) according to Erectile dysfunction (ED) in non-ocular Behçet's (NOB) patients, and to
examine the correlation between the patients' International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF)-15 scores in 5
different sexual function domains and the values measured by OCT -A.
Patients and Method: This cross-sectional study was conducted between April 2019 - March 2020. Of the
94 male Behçet's patients, 23 without eye involvement and who met the inclusion criteria were included in
the study. The control group consisted of 25 age-matched healthy individuals. Values measured by optical
coherence tomography angiography (OCT-A) were compared between patients with and without ED and
controls. The correlation between the patients' scores in 5 different sexual function domains of the IIEF-15
questionnaire and those measured by OCT -A was examined.
Results: Compared to controls, VDs were reduced in the whole area of the deep capillary plexus in both
patients with and without ED. VDs of all vessels of the whole area in the RPC network were also decreased
in EDs compared to controls and non-EDs. In addition, retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thicknesses in the
inferior quadrant were found to be decreased in patients with ED compared to controls and those without ED.
In the correlation analysis between NOB patients' scores in 5 domains of IIEF-15 and OCT-A measurements,
there was a positive correlation between the RNFL thickness values and VDs of all vessels in the whole area
of RPC, and the scores in 4 domains of IIEF-15.
Conclusions: After excluding factors that may cause ED, MMV and RPC VDs and RNFL inferior quadrant
thicknesses were found to be decreased in NOB patients with ED. In addition, a correlation was found between
IIEF-15 scores in sexual function domains and RPC VDs and RNFL thicknesses of NOB patients.