2024-02-11 12:30:00
According to a IFOP survey, six out of ten men have already encountered an erection problem at least once in their life. In 2005, there were 44%, which means that this problem is increasing. Of the treatments exist, but the effectiveness is not the same from one patient to another. Research therefore continues to offer new solutions to men.
The number of fibroblasts promotes erection
And, precisely, in a study recently published in the journal ScienceSwedish researchers from Karolinska Institutet and of Uppsala University have made discoveries which might, in the long term, open the way to new therapeutic avenues.
Their work concerns fibroblasts. These are cells present in the corpora cavernosa. When these, located on the top of the penis, fill with blood, this allows for an erection. But this process is also linked to norepinephrine, a neurotransmitter. When norepinephrine is too present, erection is difficult.
In their work, the scientists worked on mice and discovered that fibroblasts might neutralize norepinephrine and therefore promote erections. Thus, the more fibroblasts there are, the more they promote erection.
The scientists’ second discovery is that the number of fibroblasts present in the penis is affected by the frequency of erections. Thus, the more frequent the erections, the more the number of fibroblasts increases. And vice versa: the less frequent the erections, the fewer fibroblasts there are.
“It’s really not that strange,” says Christian Göritz, principal investigator of the study. If you exert a lot of effort, your body adapts. If you run regularly, it will eventually become easier to breathe while running.”
Do frequent erections prevent erectile dysfunction?
But are the conclusions of this work carried out in mice the same for humans? “The basic mechanisms of erection are very similar in all mammals with regard to anatomy, cellular structure, etc.,” answers Christian Göritz. However, there is one difference between humans and most mammals: they have a bone in their penis. This means that effective regulation of blood flow is likely even more important for human reproduction.”
Age is another factor that influences fibroblast counts. The scientists observed that older mice had less, which therefore influences erectile capacity. In men, the prevalence of erectile dysfunction also increases with age. Indeed, according to health insurance“they mainly concern men over 50”.
Thus, having erections on a regular basis might therefore play a preventive role once morest erectile dysfunction by stimulating the production of fibroblasts. “That’s not something we showed in our study, so it’s a bit speculative, but a reasonable interpretation is that it becomes easier if you have regular erections,” says Christian Göritz. And perhaps in the long term, these discoveries on the role of fibroblasts will allow the development of new treatments once morest erectile dysfunction.
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