21/02/2019
biotechnologists are developing a biotech solution for erectile dysfunction that consists of a gene construct and a blue light. Erectile dysfunction is a taboo subject among men. No one likes to talk about it. But the fact is that as men age, an increasing number will suffer from erectile dysfunction. From the age of 30, the number of men who have unsatisfactory er****ons or none at all increases. In the over-60 age group, more than half of all men have been affected by erectile dysfunction.
The main causes include cardiovascular disease, diabetes, hormonal imbalance, neurological disease and the side-effects of medication. Even spinal paralysis can result in patients no longer being able to have er****ons.
Some men reach for the ‘blue pills’ to deal with erectile dysfunction. However, Vi**ra helps only to prolong an er****on; it does not actually trigger it. To ‘get it up’, researchers led by Martin Fussenegger, professor of Biotechnology and Bioengineering at the Department of Biosystems (D-BSSE) in Basel, have now developed a novel biotechnological solution: a gene therapy that triggers reliable er****ons.
A gene construct that reacts to blue light is injected into the erectile tissue of the p***s. As soon as it is exposed to the light, a precursor molecule (guanosine triphosphate or GTP) is converted into the second messenger cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP), which exists naturally in a number of human organs. This allows voltage-dependent calcium channels to close, thereby reducing calcium levels in the cells, which in turn relaxes muscle cells and increases blood flow to the erectile tissue. And so the p***s becomes stiff. An enzyme then slowly breaks down cGMP so that the er****on wears off with time. The ‘blue pill’ blocks this enzyme and intensifies and prolongs the er****on, but it cannot trigger one.
Thanks to the gene construct, the production of cGMP is not stimulated by sexual arousal but by exposure of the erectile tissue to blue light. “In this way, we circumvent the usual sexual stimulation that triggers a cascade of signals in the body and ultimately leads to an er****on,” says Fussenegger. With erectile dysfunction, normal sexual stimulation does not lead to an er****on.
The researchers tested their new development in male rats by injecting the gene construct into the erectile tissue – with good results. In most cases, the blue light acted like a switch that allowed the rats’ er****on to be ‘turned on’. For some of the animals, the stimulation even led to ej*******on. Don't shy away ,lets help u.
