A new study has revealed a promising new treatment for Erectile Dysfunction, giving hope to those who struggle with the condition. The treatment was able to immediately restore normal erectile function in test subjects, pigs.

A new treatment that ‘immediately restored Erectile Dysfunction in pigs holds potential for humans, according to the authors of the latest study.

A groundbreaking study published in the journal Matter has revealed the development of synthetic tissue that can repair injuries and restore normal erectile function in a pig model. This groundbreaking advancement in medical technology could have significant implications for the treatment of injuries and conditions such as Erectile Dysfunction in humans.

According to a study published in the journal Matter, a synthetic tissue called the artificial tunica albuginea (ATA) has shown promising results in repairing penile injuries in a pig model.

“We largely foresaw the problems and results of the ATA construction process,” adds Xuetao Shi, one of the author of the study, “but we were still surprised by the results in the animal experiments, where the penis regained normal erection immediately after the use of ATA.”

“The greatest advantage of the ATA we report is that it achieves tissue-like functions by mimicking the microstructure of natural tissues,” he remarks. “This design approach is not limited to the biomimetic design of tunica albuginea tissues but can be extended to many other load-bearing tissues.”

Erectile dysfunction, infertility, and Peyronie’s disease are just a few of the male reproductive health concerns that Shi and his colleagues are focusing on developing biomaterials to treat. 

It is estimated that approximately half of all men between the ages of 40 and 70 suffer from some form of erectile dysfunction.

Peyronie’s disease, in which scar tissue grows in the tunica albuginea, producing discomfort and a variety of other consequences, affects around 5% of men between the ages of 40 and 70.

Shi said that although several studies have looked at repairing the urethra, less have investigated how to restore erectile function. And despite the fact that physicians are able to cure patients with damaged tunica albuginea tissue by creating patches from different tissues in the patient’s body mixed with extracellular matrix, these patches come with a number of problems. It is difficult for these patches to properly replace the native tunica albuginea since their microstructures are different from those of natural tunica albuginea and the immune system often rejects them or there are difficulties at the donor site.

To combat this problem, Shi and coworkers created a polyvinyl alcohol-based ATA with a coiled fiber structure that mimics that of real tissue. The biomechanical features of the synthetic material are therefore similar to those of tunica albuginea. Since the artificial tissue is meant to be implanted permanently, the researchers conducted in-vitro tests to evaluate its toxicity and blood compatibility. They concluded that it poses no risk to surrounding tissues.

Next, they tried the ATA on Bama miniature pigs whose tunica albuginea had been hurt. The findings of the study show that the artificial tissue patch effectively replaced the function of the natural tissues by restoring erectile function to a level comparable to that of normal penile tissue. The findings showed that after using artificial tunica albuginea (ATA) patches for one month, the synthetic tissue developed a fibrosis similar to that of healthy tissue in test subjects, pigs. The ATA was able to achieve normal erections following a saline injection into the penis, even though it did not fully restore the microstructure of the surrounding natural tissue.

“The results one month after the procedure showed that the ATA group achieved good, though not perfect, repair results,” Shi adds.

According to researcher Shi, penile injuries often involve damage to more than just the tunica albuginea. The surrounding nerves and corpus cavernosum, the spongy tissue that runs through the penis’ shaft, are frequently damaged as well, which can complicate the repair process.

“Our work at this stage focuses on the repair of a single tissue in the penis, and the next stage will be to consider the repair of the overall penile defect or the construction of an artificial penis from a holistic perspective,” adds Shi.

He also said that the researchers plan to look into ways to fix other kinds of tissue, like the heart and bladder.

Source: 10.1016/j.matt.2022.11.032

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