title: Stem cell treatment of erectile dysfunction.
abstract: Erectile Dysfunction (ED) is a common disease that typically affects older men. While oral type-5 phosphodieserase inhibitors (PDE5Is) represent a successful first-line therapy, many patients do not respond to this treatment leading researchers to look for alternative treatment modalities. Stem cell (SC) therapy is a promising new frontier for the treatment of those patients and many studies demonstrated its therapeutic effects. In this article, using a Medline database search of all relevant articles, we present a summary of the scientific principles behind SCs and their use for treatment of ED. We discuss specifically the different types of SCs used in ED, the methods of delivery tested, and the methods attempted to enhance SC therapy effect. In addition, we review the current preclinical literature on SC therapy for ED and present a summary of its findings in addition to the single clinical trial published.
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA; King Abdul Aziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Electronic address: amjadwal@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Amjad
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Alwaal
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Uwais B
authors.initials: UB
authors.lastname: Zaid
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Ching-Shwun
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Tom F
authors.initials: TF
authors.lastname: Lue
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D007172:Erectile Dysfunction / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D033581:Stem Cell Transplantation / Q000379:methods*; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology
keywords: Erectile dysfunction; Stem cell therapy