Stem Cell Secretome for the treatment of ED: A success story
Stem cell secretome for the treatment of erectile dysfunction
How well does stem cell therapy for erectile dysfunction work? Are clinical results available, and if so, what do they show? In this article, we share some research insights on stem cell therapy for the treatment of erectile dysfunction, and talk about a success story of one of our patients who was treated for ED at ANOVA Institute for Regenerative Medicine.
What is erectile dysfunction?
Erectile dysfunction (ED) is defined as the consistent or current inability to achieve and/or maintain an erection sufficient for satisfactory sexual performance.
ED is highly prevalent; its rates range from 10 to 50% for men of 40 to 70 years of age1. Risk factors for ED include hypertension, hyperlipidemia, diabetes, smoking, obesity, ß-blockers, anti-depressants, and alcohol use, amongst others2.
There are many different causes that can lead to ED. We published an article on the causes of ED previously.
Pharmacologically approved treatments for ED are always focused on treating the symptoms instead of targeting the underlying cause of ED1. Furthermore, a significant number of patients do not benefit from these types of treatments3.
Results of clinical studies on stem cell therapy for erectile dysfunction
Over forty pre-clinical (animal model) studies have shown the benefits of bone and adipose stem cells for nerve injuries, aging or diabetes mellitus-related ED3.
Available data of clinical trials demonstrate that in ED, stem cell-based treatments can increase penile hardness in type 2 diabetes mellitus ED patients, allow patients to accomplish intercourse while improving the IIEF-5 Score in post radical prostatectomy continent patients, and improve penile artery peak systolic velocity in ED1. IIEF-5 stands for International Index of Erectile Function and is a standard questionnaire that tracks sexual function in men. The study also showed improvement in rigidity with or without the concomitant use of 5-PDI and changes in the Erection Hardness Score (EHS).
But how does the effectiveness of stem cells unfold? It is currently hypothesized that stem cells act via local paracrine mechanism to improve erectile function1.
It matters how you apply the stem cell injections
The mentioned study showed a decrease of the erectile function over time following a stem cell-based treatment. This strongly suggests that repeated injections are probably needed for a sustained effect1.
ANOVA has designed treatment schemes for different types of diseases with the goal to achieve the best outcome. For ED, repeated stem cell injections, if possible in bursts of three to five applications which are repeated every few months, have shown the best treatment outcome so far.
How ANOVA successfully treated a patient with ED
ANOVA treated a 49-year-old patient with difficulty to have an erection and intercourse. The patient was initially treated with 5-PDI, followed by intracorporeal injections of vasodilators with underwhelming results. The patient had also previously tried injections of Wharton’s jelly stem cells without changes to his ED.
Our patient underwent treatment at our clinic with Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) Secretome. A total of 5 intravenous and 5 intracavernous injections were applied, as depicted in the figure below. The patient visited the clinic twice, with a two month break in between, and received 5 injections in the course of three days each time he visited.
The patient noticed positive changes after the first treatment course, which is why he decided to undergo the second MSC Secretome course.
The baseline IIEF-5 score was 8 (= moderate ED) and after the patient’s first treatment course the score improved to 22 (= no ED). The patient’s sexual performance improved significantly overall.
If you also struggle with ED and would like to know more about stem cell therapy, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us. Our patient care managers will answer your questions and arrange a consultation with our physicians. You should know all your treatment options before you make a decision!
1Capogrosso, Paolo, Francesco Montorsi, and Andrea Salonia. "Phase I and phase II clinical trials for the treatment of male sexual dysfunction—a systematic review of the literature." Expert Opinion on Investigational Drugs 27.7 (2018): 583-593.
2Haahr, Martha Kirstine, et al. "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." EBioMedicine 5 (2016): 204-210.
3Gómez-Guerra, Lauro S., et al. "Erectile dysfunction treated with intracavernous stem cells: A promising new therapy?." Revista internacional de andrologia 16.3 (2018): 119-127.
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