Gene therapy may relieve impotence

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Gene therapy may relieve impotence

Mon Dec 11, 2:04 PM ET

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A small pilot study shows that gene therapy might

help men with erectile dysfunction.

The gene in question is dubbed hSlo (for the human slowpoke gene), which encodes

a protein that relaxes smooth muscle and allows blood flow into the penis,

researchers report in the medical journal Human Gene Therapy. In order for the

gene to be administered to patients, it is incorporated into a packet of DNA

called a plasmid.

The results of the early-stage trial, lead investigator Dr. Arnold Melman told

Reuters Health, " suggest that the technology worked. We have shown that we could

give a safe vector, naked DNA, and the hSlo gene and obtain an expected

physiological response without transfer-related side effects. "

Melman, at Montefiore Medical Center and Albert Einstein College of Medicine,

the Bronx, New York and colleagues studied 11 patients with erectile

dysfunction, which was associated with diabetes or cardiovascular disease in

about half of the cases. The subjects were given a single injection ranging from

500 to 7500 micrograms of the hSlo plasmid into the corpus cavernosum of the

penis and monitored for 24 weeks.

No serious adverse effects were seen, and patients given the two highest doses

had sustained improvements in erectile function. One patient at each of these

dosing levels reported improvements that were highly clinically significant and

were maintained over the whole study period.

The researchers note that the goal of the study was to establish the safety of

the procedure and no conclusions about efficacy can be drawn, although the

results are highly encouraging. The " final proof will be obtained in the larger

placebo-controlled trials to follow, " Melman said.

SOURCE: Human Gene Therapy, December 2006.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061211/hl_nm/gene_impotence_dc