Released on = November 6, 2006, 4:12 am

Press Release Author = Susan Allen

Industry = Healthcare

Press Release Summary = Researchers from the University of Colorado Health Sciences
Center have found that for diabetic rats, gene therapy can improve erectile
dysfunction.

Press Release Body = Scientists have conducted successful tests of a gene therapy
designed to improve sexual function in men with diabetes. The experimental treatment
temporarily repairs damage caused by the disease that leads to erectile dysfunction
in 70% of diabetic men, many of whom do not benefit from drugs such as Viagra
(sildenafil).
Tests conducted on rats bred to develop a diabetes-like condition showed the gene
therapy boosted their ability to achieve erections for one month following
treatment.
If the treatment is proved to be safe to use in humans, it could be available in
five years, according to lead scientist Jesse Mills of the University of Colorado
health sciences centre in Denver.
Diabetes damages male sexual function by destroying endothelial cells that line the
inner walls of blood vessels. One function of the cells is to release nitric oxide,
a chemical signal that makes the smooth muscles around blood vessels relax, allowing
more blood to flow into the genitals.
Rats that had received VEGF gene therapy had erectile strength in between the
controls\' and the untreated diabetic rats\'. It was confirmed through DNA and protein
expression analysis that the gene therapy had been effective in the treated rats.
Analysis of the cavernosal tissue from rats in the treated diabetic group showed an
increased number of smooth muscle cells compared to the diabetic control group.
\"Sildenafil or Viagra only works in 40% to 60% of men with diabetes, so half of the
men out there are not benefiting from these drugs,\" Dr Mills told the American
Society for Reproductive Medicine conference in New Orleans. The doctors developed
soluble particles containing a gene, VEGF that is absorbed by endothelial cells and
forces them to multiply, replacing the lost cells.
For more information on erectile Dysfunction treatment options, please visit
http://www.sexualhealthnet.info/index.html.


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