Unwanted effects of orgasm: „Post-orgasmic illness” syndrome (POIS) – new data
DOI: 10.22591/magyurol.2023.1.acsj.8
Authors:
Ács Júlia dr.1, Sonkodi Balázs dr.3, Soós Zita dr.2, Nyirády Péter dr.1, Kopa Zsolt dr.1
1Semmelweis Egyetem, Urológia Klinika, Andrológiai Centrum, Budapest (igazgató: Nyirády Péter dr., centrumvezető: Kopa Zsolt dr.)
2Szt. Pantaleon Kórház, Urológiai Osztály, Dunaújváros (osztályvezető: Soós Zita dr.)
3Magyar Testnevelési és Sporttudományi Egyetem, Budapest (rektor: Sterbenz Tamás dr.)
Summary
Introduction: Post-orgasmic illness syndrome (POIS) is a rare chronic disease with significant impairment of quality of life. It is especially important to clarify the etiology and to explore treatment options due to its severe impact. The etiology is unknown, but recent research suggests that acute stress-induced nerve damage and muscle pain may be associated with POIS.
Material and method: Systematic search was performed in three major databases; Pubmed, Embase and Cochrain Library, using the keywords post-orgasmic illness, post-orgasmic, orgasm and flu-like symptoms.
Results: POIS is a rare disorder of unknown aetiology, and due to its diverse clinical manifestations, a specific medical history (according to symptom categories) is essential for the diagnosis. No questionnaire is available at the moment, development of such a diagnostic tool remains one of our future purposes.
Conclusions: According to the new ethiological theory, POIS may be caused by proprioceptive axonopathy and consequent pain due to abnormal muscle contraction in the muscle spindle. This will allow the development of new therapeutic targets (opioid, endocannabinoid molecules, NMDAR- agents…etc.) in the future, which will require further studies.