ESSM Newsletter # 39

3 ESSM Today Lisbon on the Wave of Sexual Medicine A report from the Lisbon WMSM 2018 by Pedro Vendeira The 2018 World Meeting on Sexual Medicine (WMSM) was held in Portugal between February 28 and March 3, in the Lisbon Congress Center. Thematic diversity was the main “banner” of this meeting, which addressed oncossexuality, the most varied male and female sexual dysfunc- tions, infertility as a couple issue, and trans- sexuality among many other topics. With about 1500 participants from 77 countries, this WMSM was one of the most participated ever in the field of Sexual Medicine, a feat that left the Local Committee, supported by the Portu- guese Society of Andrology, Sexual Medicine and Reproduction, particularly pleased. Our Society worked hard to bring this meeting to Portugal, so it was a source of pride to see that the rooms were full and that the sessions were all heavily participated, a reflection of the interest that this meeting has aroused. In a general analysis of the program, I would like to point out that it was quite eclectic, with the discussion of topics such as oncossexuality, emerging treatments for erectile dysfunction (in- cluding low intensity shock waves), or the chal- lenges of penile transplantation and prosthetic surgery. I also would like to highlight the live surgery sessions that were held at Hospital de Santa Maria (Centro Hospitalar Lisboa Norte), and the debate on the psychological aspects associated with the pathologies under analysis. Behind Sexual Dysfunctions One of the concerns of the Scientific Committee, chaired by Prof. Maarten Albersen, representative of ESSM, and Dr. Wayne Hellstrom, representa- tive of ISSM, was the commitment to the the- matic diversity in order to extend the discussion to all professionals involved in the follow-up of patients with sexual disorders and fertility. That is, it was intended not only to address male dys- functions but also female dysfunctions, as well as issues related to transgender individuals and the couple, focusing on the medical, surgical and psychological aspects involved. The former president of ISSM also emphasized the importance of these meetings as a reliable scientific source of what is emerging again in the area, because there is still a lot of misin- formation, especially on the Internet, where many people take advantage of those who do not have the knowledge to sell products without any scientific proof of its effectiveness. On the news discussed at WMSM 2018, the director of the Department of Urology at Tulane University School of Medicine in New Orleans, USA, high- lighted the genetic therapeutics, regenerative medicine and the latest surgical devices and procedures. Maarten Albersen, chair of the ESSM Scientific Committee, said that the dissemination of infor- mation is one of the priorities, as the support in this area varies greatly depending on the cultural and economic conditions of each country. In this sense, the also urologist in the University Hospital of Leuven, Belgium, defends that the pre-grad- uated formation in Sexual Medicine should be more in depth, because although this discipline is studied in medical schools around the world, this approach is done in a very fragmented way, which means that urologists only learn the issues related to male problems and gynecologists with women. With the ESSM educational programs, important steps have already been taken to pro- vide a more multidisciplinary approach to sexual dysfunctions. While he considers that Sexual Medicine is already well on its way, Maarten Albersen acknowledges that there is still much more to be done. Research into female dys- function is still very basic; patients who do not react to phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitors remain a challenge; and in the surgical field we are still very dependent on pumps, when we should have switched to electronic devices, batteries, etc. Measurement of Sexual Responses Prof. Pedro Nobre, president of the World As- sociation for Sexual Health, moderated the round table “Hypersexuality: update 2018” and was speaker at the session “Measuring the sexual response in the lab” with the theme “Psycho- physiological Measures”. Assuming that hyper- sexuality is still a controversial issue, this profes- sor and director of the PhD in Human Sexuality of the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences of the University of Porto stated that in the so-called sexual compulsivity, people report a marked and an inability to control their sexual behaviours, but sometimes this concept is over- simplified as there are people who have a high and even above average sexual activity with- out this being synonymous with hypersexuality. Pedro A. Vendeira, MD, PhD, FECSM Private Practice Clínica do Dragão, FIFA Medical Centre of Excellence Porto, Portugal pvendeira@gmail.com Local Organizing Committee