Don’t Feel Down, There’s a New Cure in Town

A man’s ability to have sex is greatly affected by impotence. It is a condition in which an erection cannot be achieved or sustained, due to physical and psychological factors. Nearly 70% of cases of men with erectile dysfunction (ED) attribute it to problems such as diabetes, multiple sclerosis, kidney disease, chronic alcoholism, or heart disease. Other causes found out were severe damage to the cavernosal nerves of the penis which may follow after surgery for bladder or prostate cancer. Also, when a person experiences injury to the penis, spinal cord, bladder, or pelvis, it may possibly lead to Erectile Dysfunction (ED).

Research performed in the Children’s Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, may have found a solution to repair damaged nerves and give hope of a cure against ED. Tissue engineering has made it possible to grow organs in the laboratory for transplanting to patients who need them. According to the study, while the body of a penis can be grown artificially under lab conditions, it still needs a functional set of nerves before it works properly. In order for the penis to regain sexual function, the damaged nerves can either be regrown from cells and given a new life, or regenerated.

The experiment involved cutting the cavernosal nerves of the penises of 90 rats. At the area where the nerves were damaged, a graft was attached. The graft may be from nerves from other parts of the rat’s body, or from collagen, which is an elastic protein comprising connective tissues in the body. The graft was properly constructed to follow the shape of a nerve, which will allow new nerve cells to regenerate over it. The graft will serve as a scaffold to support the growth of new nerve cells, and eventually heal the initial damage done. The findings of the study were presented to the American Urological Association.

After three months of observation, the rat cavernosal nerves, grafted from collagen and other nerves, looked very much like the undamaged ones. This discovery can lead the way for providing a cure for ED patients with damaged penile nerves. Given the right treatment and conditions, the body can heal itself by regenerating damaged nerves. So far, according to the researchers, they have been successful in guaranteeing partial penis repair for the rats. Much more should be done to determine if the repaired nerves will allow the penis to function sexually.

This study, however, has only been applied to small mammals such as rats and rabbits. These new procedures have yet to be tested on humans. But further research is being done in order to engineer a complete penis in the laboratory, with healthy tissues and a functional nerve network.

Thanks to these medical breakthroughs, patients suffering from conditions such as Erectile Dysfunction (ED) will have a positive outlook on their situation. The millions of men worldwide will be grateful once these nerve grafts are finally proven to be successful and safe for humans. Tissue engineering has made many great things possible, and is a bright and hopeful addition to the treatments available for patients with Erectile Dysfunction (ED).

Cure Erectile Dysfunction

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