WEDNESDAY, May 21 (HealthDay News) -- For men with erectile dysfunction who don't respond to oral therapy, Maxi-K gene transfer may be a safe and effective alternative, according to two studies presented this week at the Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Urological Association in Orlando, Fla.
In one study, George J. Christ, Ph.D., of Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C., and colleagues studied the effects of Maxi-K on four male cynomulgus monkeys with erectile dysfunction resulting from an atherosclerotic diet. They observed dramatic improvements in sexual function, including increases in the number of partial and full erections and a twofold increase in erection duration. They also observed an increase in intimate behaviors such as grooming of the female partner.
In a second study, Arnold Melman, M.D., of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, N.Y., and colleagues completed a two-year follow-up of five men, an 18-month follow-up of one man, and a one-year follow-up of four men aged 18 to 65 who received Maxi-K. They found that treatment was not associated with any adverse events or the onset of any hematological, autoimmune, neoplastic or cardiovascular disease.
"This study gives hope to men who experience erectile dysfunction but have not responded to oral therapies," Melman said in a statement. "The importance of these observations in clinical and pre-clinical trials is that it appears that gene transfer with the Maxi-K channel enhances both erectile capacity as well as other important measures of sexual behavior."
Authors of both studies disclose relationships with Ion Channel Innovations, LLC.
Abstract #1240
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