Specifics of Stem Cell Therapy for erectile Dysfunction
Stem cells (SC) have proven themselves in many areas of medicine, and andrology is no exception. Cell therapy is increasingly used as a method of treatment for erectile dysfunction (impotence). You are welcome to visit the Booking Health website if you are interested in the cost for ED stem cell therapy or want to make an appointment for a course of therapy abroad.
Are SCs proven to be effective for impotence?
A recently published systematic review in the literature in 2023 by Thiago P Furtado et al., which included 18 trials and 373 patients, concluded that SCs are a promising and safe method for treating erectile dysfunction that aims to eliminate the cause of the disease rather than the symptoms.
At the same time, the method has not yet been approved as a standard treatment for impotence, so it still has the status of an experimental therapy. It can only be performed as part of research.
Although a large number of studies have shown good results in the treatment of erectile dysfunction, the problem is that this method is not standardized. Doctors use different types of cells, for different types of erectile dysfunction, and in different amounts. The regimens, methods of collection, processing, and places of administration of these cells vary. So far, scientists are still searching and cannot clearly answer which method of application is the most effective, and clinical trials in this area are still ongoing.
When can SCs be used and how do they work?
Erectile dysfunction can be associated with various mechanisms, but most often impotence develops:
- As a result of atherosclerosis of the arteries that supply blood to the male genital organ
- Due to diabetes mellitus, as a manifestation of neuropathy (pathology of the nerves or nerve injury), possibly in combination with a vascular mechanism (atherosclerosis)
- After prostate gland removal (neurogenic mechanism of dysfunction)
An additional factor affecting erection is decreased testosterone levels, which is caused by aging of the body and decreased gonadal activity. There are also other endocrine disorders that affect potency.
SCs are effective for all the most common factors of erectile dysfunction (vascular, neurogenic, and endocrine), but are usually used in men who:
- Do not achieve adequate results with optimal drug treatment
- Want to achieve long-term therapeutic results
- Want to achieve spontaneous erection before each sexual act without taking medication
Stem cell therapy can either replace the standard therapy with PDE5 inhibitors or complement it, increasing its effectiveness.
How is cell therapy performed?
The treatment method is not standardized. Cell therapy is performed differently in different clinics. The method of stem cell application depends on the clinic’s experience in this area, as well as the type and severity of the erectile dysfunction.
In any case, only autologous cells, the patient’s own human cells, are used. They are collected from peripheral blood, umbilical cord blood, and adipose tissue. Bone marrow cells are used less frequently, although the method of their collection is more traumatic. Doses, frequency, number of cells, and duration of the course of therapy are not currently standardized. Clinics using this type of treatment rely on their own experience.
Typically, SCs are administered intracavernously: into the cavernous bodies of the penis. But, unlike standard conservative therapy, a man does not need an injection before each sexual act to ensure a short-term erection. Instead, the patient gets a long-term result by restoring the damaged tissues responsible for the erectile mechanism.
You are welcome to visit the Booking Health website and choose a good clinic abroad to benefit from the latest advances in stem cell therapy. According to reviews, patients get good long-term results after using cell therapy.
