Stem cell-based therapy for erectile dysfunction / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

ABSTRACT

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To review the effect of stem cells in erectile dysfunction as well as their application to the therapy of erectile dysfunction.</p><p><b>DATA SOURCES</b>The data used in the present article were mainly from PubMed with relevant English articles published from 1974 to 2011. The search terms were "stem cells" and "erectile dysfunction".</p><p><b>STUDY SELECTION</b>Articles regarding the role of stem cells in erectile dysfunction and their application to the therapy of erectile dysfunction were selected.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Stem cells hold great promise for regenerative medicine because of their ability to self-renew and to differentiate into various cell types. Meanwhile, in preclinical experiments, therapeutic gene-modified stem cells have been approved to offer a novel strategy for cell therapy and gene therapy of erectile dysfunction.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The transplantation of stem cells has the potential to provide cell types capable of restoring normal function after injury or degradation in erectile dysfunction. However, a series of problems, such as the safety of stem cells transplantation, their application in cell therapy and gene therapy of erectile dysfunction need further investigation.</p>