Sexual-arousal disorder can compromise mental health of individuals: Study

A study has revealed that persistent genital arousal disorder (PGAD) can compromise the mental health of an individual and can severely damage relationships with their partners.

A study has revealed that persistent genital arousal disorder (PGAD) can compromise the mental health of an individual and can severely damage relationships with their partners. PGAD is experienced exclusively by females and is characterised by spontaneous and unwanted sexual arousal which is not related to desire.

The study was conducted by researchers of Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and was published in the journal - PAIN Reports. The results from the study suggest that PGAD can be caused by alteration of the firing of nerves that are known to carry sensations from genitalia or by damage caused to the lowest parts of the spinal cord.

The study also indicated that neurological treatments can benefit many patients suffering from these diseases. "It's important that people know of this medical condition and that it is primarily a neurological problem, not a psychiatric one," said lead researcher Bruce Price.

"Many affected women are silent and undercover--it's in no way a fun condition, and it is difficult for patients to address their symptoms with their doctors, who have typically never heard of PGAD," added Price. The problem can be troublesome for adolescents and can cause shame, confusion, and fear.

The study included ten females whose symptoms of PGAD started between the ages of 11 to 70 years. Spinal nerve-root cysts were detected in four patients and generalised sensory nerve damage in two of them. One patient that had symptoms since childhood was born with a defect in her lowest spinal cord while one had a lumbosacral herniated disc in her lower back and another one developed short-lived PGAD as she stopped taking prescribed anti-depressant medication.

Every psychiatric and gynecological treatment was ineffective, and the injection of local anesthetics had no lasting benefit. In contrast, neurological treatments like treating nerve damage and cyst removal were effective in 80 per cent of patients. "Physicians need to be aware of PGAD and inquire about it when patients experience other pelvic pain or urological symptoms that often accompany PGAD," said another researcher Anne Louise Oaklander.

"It's treatable, but the treatment depends on the cause. By identifying some common causes--and localizing them to specific regions of the sacral nervous system--our study provides direction on how to help patients and to guide future research," added Oaklander. (ANI)

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