August 10, 2005 - NAS -

Scientists have found the major cause of erectile dysfunction (ED) in men, suffering from diabetes. This news came from the Johns Hopkins Hospital, where a group of Brady Urology University scientists studied the nature of erection and causes of diabetes-related ED.

Special type of simple sugar, which is present in the blood of diabetic men, is the reason #1 causing the loss of sexual performance or erectile dysfunction, according to the research. This sugar, defined by scientists as O-GlcNAc, is the agent, which interferes with the normal chain of physical processes in men’s penis, resulting in inability of penis to gain and maintain erection.

It is a proved fact for the time being that the major cases of erectile dysfunction have physical nature. Doctors explain more than 80% of all ED cases by different physical factors like vascular diseases, diabetes, spinal cord injuries etc. At the same time, the ED in diabetic men differs from that of non-diabetic ones. Moreover, the efficiency of popular pills like Viagra in treating ED in diabetic men is lower.

That is why it is of crucial importance for scientists to understand all the details of erection on the level of biochemical processes in the human organism.

In order to understand the significance of a new discovery it is worthy to look at the process of erection. It is based on the filling of special vessels in penis with blood. It can be achieved after the relaxation of smooth muscles in penis, allowing blood to enter the penis. The main agent, relaxing those muscles is nitric oxide. But there are certain agents, which break down the nitric oxide synthesis (NOS), thus making erection impossible.

At the time being, a special enzyme called PDE-5 is considered to be the major inhibitor of NOS and the main cause of ED on the biochemical level. All the ED oral pills (Viagra, Cialis and Levitra) target this very enzyme to decrease its efficiency and consequently to increase the erection.

According to the new research, PDE-5 is not the only or not the major cause of erectile dysfunction in men, suffering from diabetes. The discovered sugar has the same inhibiting influence of the nitric oxide as the PDE-5. Obviously, this can explain the different efficiency of Viagra when it is taken by diabetic men and non-diabetic men.

Scientists considered the new research from Brady University to be the precondition for creation of new ED pills, which would target the O-GlcNAc sugar and will help to treat erectile dysfunction in diabetic men with greater efficiency.

Note: NAS is the abbreviation for National Academy of Sciences.

Nick

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External resources
http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/full/102/33/11870
http://www.scienceblog.com/cms/node/8623

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