Sexual Dysfunctions in Mentally Ill Patients (eBook)

This book addresses the fundamental importance of the proper assessment and treatment of sexual disorders in patients with mental disorders with regard to their treatment outcomes and adherence to therapies.

In fact, patients with mental disorders often suffer from sexual dysfunctions and in many cases, pharmacological treatment causes sexual-dysfunction side-effects. However, anxiety disorders, personality disorders, eating disorders and psychotic disorders are often also characterized by sexual symptoms that have a profound impact on sexual function.

The psychopathology of sexual behavior investigates deficits in the mind-body relationship that are expressed through sexual symptoms such as erectile dysfunction, premature ejaculation, vaginismus, orgasmic disorders, or lack of sexual desire. These symptoms can be considered both prodromal and as a consequence of psychological or psychiatric suffering.

Written by a multidisciplinary team of experts, this book offers a valuable guide for psychiatrists, andrologists, gynecologists and psychologists.

Emmanuele A. Jannini is a Professor of Endocrinology, Andrology and Sexual Medicine at the Department of Systems Medicine, Tor Vergata University of Rome, Italy, and head of the Laboratory of Molecular Endocrinology and Molecular Sexology at the University of L'Aquila, Italy. He has had numerous experiences abroad: as a guest researcher and exchange scientist at the Clinical Endocrinology Branch and at the Genetics and Biochemistry Branch, NIDDK, NIH. Later he lectured at St Catherine's College, Oxford (UK) for summer courses organized by the European Academy of Sexual Medicine. Prof. Jannini's scientific contributions are reflected in his >150 papers published in peer-reviewed international journals (total impact factor: >600; cited >5000 times; H-index: 41). His main research interests are sexual medicine and the andrology (erectile dysfunction and subcellular localization of type 5 phosphodiesterase; pathogenesis of premature ejaculation; functional anatomy of female orgasm) and endocrinology of reproduction and sexuality, particularly testosterone and thyroid physiopathology. He is currently the President of the Italian Society of Andrology and Sexual Medicine.

Alberto Siracusano graduated cum laude from 'Università degli Studi di Roma La Sapienza' Medical School in 1977 and graduated cum laude from 'Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore' Psychiatry Residency Program in 1981. He has been an Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Naples, SUN and from 2001 he has been a Professor of Psychiatry at the 'University Tor Vergata,' where he has been Chair of the Department of Neurosciences, and is currently Chair of the Department of Systems Medicine. He has been President of the 'Italian Society of Psychiatry' (SIP) and Member of the Italian Psychoanalytic Association. He has written more than 200 publications and 20 books in the field of schizophrenia, mood disorders, and personality tracts.