Gene therapy of erectile dysfunction: the first stage was successful
According to WebMD, the first stage of clinical trials demonstrated the safety of an experimental technique of gene therapy for erectile dysfunction. According to the developers of the new technique, injections of the experimental drug did not cause any side effects in the study participants for two years.
The study, the progress report of which was presented at the conference of the American Society of Urology, involved 11 volunteers with erectile dysfunction that did not respond well to medication. All subjects received injections of a drug containing copies of a gene encoding a protein called Maxi-K. This protein is responsible for triggering the biochemical process that leads to relaxation of the smooth muscles of the vascular wall.
According to the developers, the introduction of additional copies of the gene directly into the penis should lead to increased blood flows into the cavernous (cavernous) bodies and, as a result, to the restoration of a long erection.
Since the stage of clinical trials was devoted to assessing the safety of the new treatment method, its impact on the sexual life of patients was not evaluated in any way. At the same time, laboratory studies have shown that injections of an experimental drug significantly increased the sexual activity of male experimental monkeys.
According to Arnold Melman, one of the authors of the study, Professor of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, the data available to date indicate that gene therapy can be an effective alternative to existing drugs for the treatment of erectile dysfunction, or enhance their effect when used together. Gene therapy for impotence can also help patients with cardiovascular diseases who cannot take drugs such as Viagra due to side effects.