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Abstract Psoriasis is a common cutaneous disease with multifactorial etiology including genetic and non-genetic factors such as drugs, smoking, mental stress, trauma and infection. The role of interaction between environmental factor and genetic factor are considered to be the main predisposing factors for development of psoriasis. Psoriasis is associated with an increased risk of CVD, DM and hypertension. Endothelial dysfunction is widely regarded as being the initial process in the development of atherosclerosis. Erectile dysfunction is one of the most common conditions affecting middle-aged and older men. It is defined as the inability to achieve a full erection or the inability to maintain an erection adequate for sexual intimacy. The IIEF is a multidimensional self-report assessment to assess male sexual function. A modified five-item IIEF (IIEF-5) was created to assess the presence and severity of ED. The five items chosen were based on the capacity to determine the presence or absence of ED. Endocan is an immunoinflammatory marker and its elevated levels were reported in some endothelial dysfunction-related diseases. Circulating endocan correlates with cardiovascular risk as well as the severity of disease in patients with psoriasis. The endocan levels were higher in patients with psoriasis compared with controls; again, there was a correlation with indices of inflammation. The increased endocan levels may represent the endothelial and inflammatory components of the pathogenesis of ED. Endocan may prove to be useful as a novel diagnostic marker for the severity of ED. |