The Aim of This Research is to Better Understand How Complete Spinal Cord Injury May Change Erogenous Zones in Adult Males (QualiEroSCI)

March 27, 2025 updated by: Nadine Streit, Fondation Garches

Erogenous Zones in Adult Males After Complete Spinal Cord Injury

A complete spinal cord injury (SCI) in men is characterized by the total loss of motor skills and sensations below the injury. The loss of penile sensation, the erogenous zone primarily involved in sexual response, is involved in sexual dysfunction, impacting sexual pleasure and quality of life. The management of genito-sexual dysfunction is a priority for paraplegic patients, ahead of bladder-sphincter and motor functions. For tetraplegic patients, the restoration of genito-sexual functions is their second priority after the upper limb motor skills recovery (Anderson, 2004)(Anderson et al., 2007). Medical assistance is currently available to i) restore erectile function allowing penetrative sexual intercourse, ii) enable sperm collection for reproductive purposes, iii) assisted reproductive techniques which allowing most often these patients to achieve their fatherhood goals (Giuliano et al., 2019)(Chochina et al., 2016)(Lombardi et al., 2015). Nevertheless, the assessment and management of the loss of genital sensations have been poorly studied, alike sexual pleasure and satisfaction in SCI patients (Philpott et al., 2006).

Erogenous zones are regions of the body that elicit sexual pleasure and trigger or enhance sexual arousal when appropriately stimulated. The discovery of other forms of physical intimacy that move away from the traditional scripts of phallo-centric male sexuality (Earle et al., 2020)(Giurleo et al., 2022)(Ostrander, 2009)(Burns et al., 2008) could improve sexual pleasure. The stimulation of hypersensitive regions in the skin areas corresponding to the lesion level and above has the potential to represent one of the strategies to compensate the lack of sensitivity of the genital-sexual organs (Hohmann, 1972)(Bach-y-Rita, 1999)(Elliott, 2002)(Anderson et al., 2007)(Lopez et al., 2008)(Alexander & Marson, 2018). But again, these data are scares and limited to few testimonials.

The aim of the present research program is to identify, define and characterize erogenous zones in men with complete SCI in the absence of sensitivity of the genitals.

The study design is a qualitative observational study, and the consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative research (COREQ) will be followed (Tong et al., 2007). A minimum of fourteen semi-structured interviews with men with a complete SCI followed in a neuro-urology department will be conducted with the recruitment stopped once data saturation is achieved.

Study Overview

Status

Enrolling by invitation

Conditions

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Estimated)

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

France
- - Garches, France, 92380
    - Hôpital Raymond Poincaré

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

Adult
Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

heterosexual adult men with a complete spinal cord injury

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

Men
Complete spinal cord injury
Heterosexual
Sexual activity prior to the injury

Exclusion Criteria:

Syringomyelia
Other neurological condition
No sexual activity since the injury

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Caracterization of the erogenous zones Time Frame: At the time of the interview (Baseline)	Semi structured interviews to identifie the phenomenology behind the erogenous zones	At the time of the interview (Baseline)
Localization of the erogenous zones Time Frame: At the time of the interview (Baseline)	Body map chart	At the time of the interview (Baseline)

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Fondation Garches

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

March 17, 2025

Primary Completion (Estimated)

December 31, 2025

Study Completion (Estimated)

March 17, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

March 20, 2025

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 27, 2025

First Posted (Actual)

April 3, 2025

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)