Erectile Refunction Information on Erectile Refunction

As far as the inability of males to sustain penile erection is concerned, or what we call impotence / erectile dysfunction, there are treatments that are made to correct an imbalance that may happen in male sex hormones. Male hormone imbalance can do contribute to E.D. or erectile dysfunction. Cases of significantly low levels of testosterone, often resulting from a abnormality of this organ at birth or from trauma or blood vessel injury to the testes, can be corrected with intramuscular injections of the hormone or daily application of transdermal skin patches. This is administered every after 30 days. Hyperprolactinemia can also cause the condition. It is an oversecretion of the hormone prolactin caused by some tumor in the brain (specifically pituitary gland), can be medicated with the drug bromocriptine or by surgical removal of the pituitary gland. Take note though, that every after removal of the pituitary gland, the doctor may prescribe pituitary hormones as this must be supplemented after surgery.

Utilizing expernal agents like medicated creams for various types of erectile dysfunction, though not very effective in the past, is now undergoing clinical study. These vasodilating (or blood pooling) creams do not seem to show much promise, however, because the medications probably need to enter the blood streem itself to achieve a practical effect.

The pharmaceutical company that makes Viagra, named Pfizer, is exploring a lot of new ways of giving the drug, such as nasal and wafer delivery systems that may allow for a faster effect. This can cut down the the waiting time for an erection. Meanwhile other health experts are testing different oral medications. A medication named apomorphine, which stimulates the hypothalamus of the brain to signal the penis to erect, is being tested in the form of a tablet that dissolves in the mouth—an attempt to minimize its main side effects of nausea and vomiting. Phentolamine, currently used as a stand-alone and combination injectable drug, is also being tested in an oral form.

Going to genetics, we have gene therapy. It represents a new area of Erectile dysfunction research, one for which the penis is particularly well suited. Because the penis is external and easily accessible, a tourniquet can be easily tied (for up to 10 minutes) to prevent any injected genes or DNA from entering the general circulation. In addition, vascular smooth muscle cells, the probable targets for many gene therapies, have a low turnover rate, increasing the chances for the effects of the therapy to last for weeks or months. DNA therapy can be used in a lot of ways, including the insertion of genes into penile cells to produce proteins that are lacking because of missing or defective genes. Injected genes could also generate proteins that would make the penis more sensitive to compensate for an organic disorder.

A couple of gene therapy approaches are currently being studied. This is what Jacob Rajfer of the University of California at Los Angeles Medical Center is aiming to do. He is attempting to introduce a precursor gene into the penis to boost nitric oxide production when the gene is activated by a chemical stimulant. The potential for a healthy, satisfactory therapy in humans that would allow spontaneous erections is truly promising and will be brought to clinical testing a few years from now.

The birth-control pill had its time as it led to the sexual revolution for a lot of women in the child bearing age. Now, it’s the men’s turn as the blue pill, Viagra, brought about its own revolution for men. Beginning the time of the introduction of the blue pill, countless male population have sought and received prescriptions of Viagra for dealing with their erectile dysfunction, this is a medical term but most of us do commonly recognize it as impotence.

The eagerness to have this medication and the doctor’s (specifically urologist) willingness to dispense it mark a huge chnge in how a lot of us think about the problem, which years and years back was classified to be mainly of psychological origin, or to put, the doctor can say back then that ‘it’s all in your head.’

This change has great influence for around 10 to 15 percent of the male population who will at some time in their lives face the total inability to achieve or maintain satisfactory penile erection. The problem, which becomes more prevalent as men get older, has the effect of making sexual intercourse unsatisfactory, if not a failure.

Despite the fact that proved medical interventions have been available for more than two decades, recent advances in the understanding of the processes that lead to an erection have brought about new treatments and promise even more targeted treatments as the years go by.

Computer models developed by the experts have shown that the penis has a great excess of gap junctions relative to other tissues. Even after severe nerve loss—as sometimes occurs with diabetes or a radical prostatectomy—there is sufficient reserve signaling capacity to allow the corporal tissue to function normally if the right stimulus is just there.

The importance of that statement cannot be overstated, due to the fact that the stimulus can be administered by either the urologist or the patient as an intracavernous or intraurethral injection or as an oral drug, in very small amounts that will allow the what has been called “damaged” organ to become erect.

In addition to the stimulus along the autonomic nerves to the corpus cavernosum, hormones entering the sinusoids and penile tissues at the time when the penis is unerect provide regulatory signals. These hormones can be noradrenaline which is produced by the adrenal glands, and as well as the testosterone from the testes help to regulate the tone of the penis’ smooth muscles and the secretory capacity of certain nerve fibers. Under the doctor’s supervision, these hormones can be given as well to medicate the condition.

Whenever there is something that goes in the way with successful nerve transmission can cause impotence or erectile dysfunction. One thing that can lead to nerve pathway interference is traume, which leads to edema formation and the edema can damage your spinal nerves. Trauma can either be a head or spinal cord injuries. Other causes can be Parkinson’s disease, CVA or stroke, and diseases with systemic effects such as diabetes and multiple sclerosis can compromise normal nerve transmission and function, leading to erectile dysfunction. Old age can be another common reason, because it is often accompanied by a decrease in penile nerve endings and blood flow and by an increase in smooth muscle cell tone (making maintaining an erection not as easy as before).

Some drugs and alcoholism can also cause impotence. Vascular conditions such as artreriosclerosis or the decreasing elasticity of the arteries can damage blood vessels supplying blood flow to the penis. Also, anything that can affect the primitive hypothalamic regions responsible for libido has the potential to cause erectile dysfunction. These factors which are usually psychological can include anxiety, aging, depression, chronic illness and medications that affect the brain and the spinal cord.

Thankfully, our new understanding of the erection process does not rule out the presence of secondary psychological problems emerging as a result of impotence (which are often incorrectly blamed for the condition). In addition, certain psychological conditions, such as anxiety disorders, can be the primary cause of impotence.

During the mid 20^th century, the effective treatment for organic impotence was the penile implant, successfully performed for the first time in 1947 using a single rigid plastic strut surgically implanted into the penis.

As the field of medicine advances, a three-component inflatable device was developed. It’s parts include a bulb placed inside the scrotum, an inflatable cylinder positioned inside the penis and a saline sack inserted into the abdomen. Pumping the bulb causes fluid to pool the cylinder, bringing about rigidity. A release valve in the bulb allows a return to the flaccid or non erect state. Today three companies in the United States manufacture a variety of semirigid and inflatable prosthetic devices.

One mechanical treatment is a vacuum pump, a temporary, nonsurgical approach that works on the same principle as milking machines placed over a cow’s udder. Pumping air out of an airtight chamber covering the penis creates a vacuum, which draws blood into the penis corpus cavernosum. A tie is placed at the base of the penis to trap the blood in the phallus after removal of the vacuum chamber. The procedure can be safe if you properly follow the doctor’s instructions. But then, vacuum pumps produce different degrees of penile rigidity for each man and during each time of use.