In a new study from the University of Miami, researchers found that the new coronavirus can linger in the penis and cause impotence in men.
The found coronavirus infection can damage blood vessels, and vessels that supply blood to the penis appear to be no exception.
They found coronavirus particles in penile tissue samples taken from two former COVID-19 patients who became impotent following their infection, which had occurred six and eight months earlier.
Further study revealed evidence of blood vessel damage in the penises of the COVID-19 patients, compared to two other men with erectile dysfunction who’d never been infected.
The blood vessels themselves malfunction and are not able to provide enough blood to enter the penis for an erection.
In the study, the team focused on two recovered COVID-19 patients undergoing penile prosthesis surgery for their erectile dysfunction. Both men had normal erectile function prior to their infections.
One of the men had been severely sick with COVID-19 and spent two weeks in the hospital before he recovered, but otherwise was free from chronic health problems.
The other man had a relatively mild case of COVID-19 but suffered from clogged arteries and high blood pressure before becoming infected.
Both men still had COVID-19 particles in their penile tissue, as well as evidence of endothelial dysfunction—a condition in which the linings of small blood vessels don’t function properly and fail to provide adequate blood supply to different parts of the body.
By comparison, two COVID-free men also undergoing surgery for erectile dysfunction had no evidence of the same sort of small blood vessel damage in their penises.
The team compared this to organ damage in the lungs, kidneys and brain that’s been found in COVID-19 patients.
They thought the penis also could be affected in a similar way. It makes sense that COVID-19 could affect men in this way, given the virus’ ability to cause inflammation and damage blood vessels.
But they cautioned that men shouldn’t panic until more research has been done.
COVID is endothelial dysfunction. The small arteries of the heart can get impacted in the same way that the penile blood vessels can get impacted.
The researchers urged former COVID-19 patients now suffering from erectile dysfunction to seek medical help.
If you care about COVID-19, please read studies about the cause of high COVID-19 death rates in men and older people and findings of this vitamin deficiency could strongly increase risk of COVID-19.