Stem Cell Therapy for Erectile Dysfunction: Progress and Future Directions.

Relatively higher-quality human studies compared with other topics in this database, e.g. multiple RCTs or systematic reviews. This does not mean it is standard or approved care.

• Level A · Stronger Clinical Evidence
• Level B · Emerging clinical evidence with positive signals
• Level C · Early human research exploring benefits
• Level D · Scientific groundwork from lab and animal studies
• Emerging · Emerging topic under active research

Abstract (original English)

Introduction Erectile dysfunction (ED) is the most common sexual disorder reported by men to their health-care providers and the most investigated male sexual dysfunction. Currently, the treatment of ED focuses on symptomatic relief of ED and therefore tends to provide temporary relief rather than providing a cure or reversing the underlying cause. Recently, stem cell-based therapies have received increasing attention regarding their potential for the recovery of erectile function. Preclinical studies have shown that these cells may reverse pathophysiological changes leading to ED rather than treating the symptom ED. Aim To review available evidence on the efficacy and mechanisms of action of stem cell application for the treatment of ED. Methods A nonsystematic review was conducted on the available English literature between 1966 and 2013 on the search engines SciVerse-sciencedirect, SciVerse-scopus, Google Scholar, and PubMed. Results Several preclinical studies have addressed stem cell-based therapies for the recovery of erectile function following cavernous nerve injury and in Peyronie's disease, diabetes, aging, and hyperlipidemia. Overall, these studies have shown beneficial effects of stem cell therapy, while evidence on the mechanisms of action of stem cell therapy still varies between studies. While many authors propose engraftment and differentiation of stem cells, a

Evidence level

Relatively higher-quality human studies compared with other topics in this database, e.g. multiple RCTs or systematic reviews. This does not mean it is standard or approved care.

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