This original research from Jothydev's Diabetes Research Centers, Kerala, was published in the November issue of Journal of Diabetes Science and Technology. Type 2 diabetes (T2DM) individuals are at higher risk of developing erectile dysfunction (ED). A lower prevalence of neuropathy and ED is observed in subjects with better glycemic control. Apart from targeting HbA1c and mean glucose concentrations, reducing the glycemic variability (GV) is the key to successful management of diabetes and associated complications.

A parallel arm, open-label, randomized, controlled study (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT01468519) achievable with the insulin pump (i.e. continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion or CSII) relative to multiple daily injection therapy (MDI) peripheral neuropathy. Subjects were randomized (1:1) to CSII (intervention) or MDI (control) arms.

At six months, CSII arm showed increased International Index of Erectile Function scores (addresses the relevant domains of male sexual function,3 +7.87, P = .0037). More subjects in the CSII than the MDI arm achieved reductions in ED severity and were listed under the “No ED” category (6 vs 1, P = .0108). Those in the CSII arm achieved lowered HbA1c levels (−0.87%, P = .0036), PHQ-9 scores (represents the severity of depression,4 −1.33, P = .0017), and hsCRP levels (a biomarker of inflammation and risk factor for ED, −0.53 mg/l, P = .0110), whereas those in the MDI arm had increased HbA1c levels (+0.76%, P = .0227).

The results indicate that CSII fine-tunes the glycemic status and imparts a positive influence on the sexual function of T2DM males.

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