Stem cells cured impotence

Stem cell therapy has helped men cope with erectile dysfunction

Evgenia Efimova, Vesti

A major achievement in stem cell research has made it possible for men with erectile dysfunction (which occurred after prostate surgery) to have sex again. This was stated by scientists at the annual meeting of the European Association of Urologists in London (see the press release EAU Stem cells shown to restore erection capability in men with erectile dysfunction – VM).

Let's explain that prostate surgery can lead to erectile dysfunction in 13% of cases. In this regard, researchers are looking for a way to eliminate a similar defect that occurs after surgery.

In the current study, specialists used liposuction to take fat cells from the patient's abdominal area, then subjected them to short-term treatment (details are not specified). As a result, after some time they became universal stem cells. In other words, they could later turn into almost any cells of the body.

"We do not culture cells and do not change them in any way," notes the lead author of the study, Martha Haahr, who published preliminary results last year in the journal EBioMedicine (Safety and Potential Effect of a Single Intracavernous Injection of Autologous Adipose–Derived Regenerative Cells in Patients with Erectile Dysfunction Following Radical Prostatectomy: An Open-Label Phase I Clinical Trial – VM).

The researchers say that the scientific work is the first of its kind, as scientists have implanted stem cells directly into the penis of patients. There they began to change into nerve and muscle cells, as well as into endothelial cells lining blood vessels. This was told by the lead author of the study, Professor of the Odense University Hospital Lars Lund (Lars Lund).

Clinical studies have shown that eight out of 15 men with erectile dysfunction were able to have sex six months after a single injection of stem cells. General anesthesia is used during the procedure, and patients may well be discharged from the hospital on the same day.

Lund said in an interview with The Independent that "53 percent of men after a year of research retained the ability to have sex without the use of drugs, implants or other devices."

He adds that such treatment is much better than constant pills before sexual intercourse. "As far as we know, for the first time, observations of men over the course of a year have shown that the effect of treatment is long–term and safe," says the professor.

In the future, the specialists intend to demonstrate a controlled trial of their therapy. The subjects will be randomly selected from among those who have had surgery to remove prostate cancer and are able to control the bladder. They will be divided into different groups and will survive different degrees of clinical interventions. In addition, as is customary, there will be a control group of participants who will be tested for the effectiveness of the placebo effect.

The researchers also ask to take into account the fact that the scientific work is only at the initial stage, but the results are already promising.

Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru  28.03.2017